> Equestria Girls: The College Years (Revised)
>  by Gear Works
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch. 1 - Welcome to College
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was every student’s dream to go to college.  And while every city has its own college, there was one college that was known as the biggest, and best, college out there.  Equestria University.  And it is here where our story begins.

Pulling up to one of the dorm buildings on campus was a dark blue caravan with a black motorbike attached to the back.  And driving that caravan was Miss Luna, Vice Principal of Canterlot High.  But she wasn’t here to attend college, but to help one of her former students settle in to her new college life.  Sunset Shimmer.  Wearing her signature black leather jacket, she got out of the caravan with Miss Luna and grabbed some of her luggage to take inside.

Sunset looked at the building in front of her.  Feeling a bit nervous, she said, “So this is what it’s like to go to college.”

Miss Luna looked at her and asked, “Nervous?”

“A bit.”

She let out a chuckle.  “I was that way when I started college.  But my sister was able to reassure me that it would be OK.”

“Well, you didn’t have to worry about magic like I did,” Sunset said as she looked at her magical red pendant.

“That’s true.  Just remember how you use your magic.  Not everyone on campus would know about it, and we want to do our best to keep it under the radar.  Not everyone is ready to know about the magic that has been unleashed in our world, and how to seal it away.”

“As long as Princess Twilight Sparkle can monitor any magical activity that’s going on between both worlds, I think we should be fine.  A break from having to save the world would be nice.”

Sunset Shimmer followed Miss Luna into the building named Clover Hall.  Inside the lobby, they walked up to the front desk where the dorm’s female resident assistant was watching over the desk, checking in students and issuing their keys.

Sunset was the next person to walk up to the resident assistant.  “Sunset Shimmer, checking in.”

The lady went back to the RA’s office and came back out with a key and a piece of paper.  “Please look over this form and sign on the dotted line.”  Sunset looked it over and signed the paper.  “Thank you.  You will be staying in Room 201.  Your roommate has yet to check in, but the girls in Room 203 have already checked in.  You’ll be sharing the bathroom with them.”  She handed Sunset the key to the room.  “Just take the stairs to the left and you should see it at the end of the stairs.  The door to the back left leads to the boys dorm rooms, and the other door to back right leads to the laundry room and kitchen.”

Sunset asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know who my roommate is, wouldn’t you?”

She looked at the roommate list.  “Twilight Sparkle.”

Sunset was surprised and looked at Luna.

“I was able to pull a few favors from the university president.  He was a former principal at CHS.”

Sunset replied, “Thanks.  I guess this will make things easier to settle in.”

Both of them went up the stairs and came up to the second floor.  Sunset was able to see Room 201 from the distance.  She placed the key into the doorknob and unlocked the door, opening it to see the room inside.  One half of the room had a bed next to the wall to her right, with a small table at the end, and at the center of the room was a shelf desk and dresser.  The other half of the room was like a mirror image of the room, but had a window on that side.  To the left of the room was a door that lead to the bathroom.  Next to it was the room’s open closet, followed by a sink and mirror.

Sunset decided to take the far end of the room and started to place her stuff on the bed.  With Miss Luna’s help, and making a few trips, they started to unload all of Sunset’s belongs from the caravan and placed them in the room.  As they started to unpack and get everything settled, they heard the door open, and saw a lady dressed in pink walk in carrying a suitcase.

Luna was able to recognize who it was that walked in.  “Cadence.”

“Luna.  I see that you’re helping Sunset settle in.”

“That’s what it looks like,” replied Luna.

Just behind her was a girl with a purple ponytail carrying a big box that was almost blocking her view in front of her.  Sunset saw this and went to help.

“Let me help you with that, Twilight.”

“Thanks, Sunset.”  Sunset was able to grab the box and place it next to the bed closest to her.  “I was surprised to have you as my roommate.”

“Same here,” replied Sunset.  “You can thank Miss Luna for that.”

“Well, she does need someone that she can trust while she’s here,” said Cadence.

“That’s not the only one.”  The muffled sound that they heard came from Twilight’s backpack.  She took it off and placed it on the bed, opening the zipper.  What popped out next was a small purple dog.  “About time you let me out.”

Sunset let out a small giggle.  “It’s nice to see you too, Spike.”

Cadence explained.  “I know that pets aren’t allowed on campus, unless it was a service dog,  But I was able to pull a few favors myself.  Besides, I’m not sure any of us can handle having a talking dog around the house.”

“I guess so, since you’re now the new Principal of Crystal Prep,” said Sunset.  “By the way, congratulations on the promotion.”

“Thanks.  But it’s not the only thing that’s new.”

Just then, a white man with short, blue hair walked in, carrying a small refrigerator.  “Twilight, where do you want to put the fridge at?”

Twilight looked around for a moment before she could make a decision.  “Just put it next to the closet, brother.”  She looked to Sunset and said, “This is my BBBFF, Shining Armor.”

Sunset had a confused look on her face.  “BBBFF?”

“Big brother best friend forever.  That’s what I refer him as.”

Shining Armor placed the fridge on the ground, then turned and looked at the new girl.  “You must be Sunset Shimmer.  Twily’s told me a lot about you.”

“Well, thank you,” replied Sunset.  “It’s nice to meet Twilight’s brother.”

“Not to mention my future husband.”  Cadence held out her hand to show off her diamond ring.

Luna was surprised.  “I can’t believe it.  Congratulations.  When’s the wedding?”

Cadence looked over to Shining Armor.  “We haven’t set a date just yet.  But I’ll let you know when we get it worked out.  I already have a lot to work on, cleaning up Crystal Prep’s mess that Cinch left behind.”

“How bad was it?” Sunset asked Cadence.

“You really don’t want to know.  Besides, you girls already have your hands full, after the Friendship Games and what happened at Camp Everfree from what I’ve been told.”

Sunset placed her arm around Twilight’s shoulders and said, “Don’t worry.  I’m sure we can handle anything that comes our way.”

“Well, we still have some more unpacking, if you want to help us,” Shining Armor recommended.

“Sure thing.”

So all of them went to help unload all of Twilight’s belongings into their room before removing Sunset motorbike from Luna’s caravan to the parking area.  As they we busy unpacking, there was a knock at the bathroom door.  Realizing that it was their neighbors, Sunset went over to introduce herself to them.  But when she opened the door, she was met by a familiar blonde haired farm girl.

“Well I’ll be.  I never expected to have you as my neighbor so soon, Sunset.”

“Applejack!  So you’re living next door to me?”

“Sure thing.”  Applejack looked into the room to see the others.  “Twilight.  Miss Luna.”

“Well Twilight, Sunset.  It looks like your first year in college will be much easier to get through,” said Luna.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” replied Applejack.

She looked back to her room, which the others looked along with her.  A girl with glasses and light blue hair in pigtails started to stick her head out.  It was a girl that they were familiar with.

“Sugarcoat?”

“Hello… Twilight.”  Sugarcoat was a bit nervous in seeing Twilight again since the Friendship Games.

Sunset gave Applejack a confused look on her face.  “How did you get her as your roommate?”

“I was wondering that myself.  But I’m not sure this is the same Sugarcoat that we saw back then.”

“How come?” asked Sunset.

Twilight walked up to Sugarcoat.  “Is everything OK?  I heard that you made Valedictorian in your class at CPA.”

“I heard the same thing about you at CHS.”  Sugarcoat rubbed the back of her head.  “But things haven’t been the same since you left.”

Twilight looked at her.  “What are you saying?”

Cadence decided to intervene.  “How about we forget about what happen back then and just focus on college, right?”

“Yea.  We still need to finish unpacking, right?” Luna added.

Sunset was curious about what they were trying to hide, but decided to let it go for now.  All of them went back to finish unpacking all of their items.  When they were done, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike said their goodbyes before Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor left the campus grounds.  Now it was just Sunset, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Sugarcoat in the same room.

Sugarcoat decided to ask Twilight, “So… you have magic that you can control, right?”

“That’s right.  Midnight Sparkle is no more.  And I have my friends to thank for that.”

“Well, Applejack said to you can… levitate items?”

“Weird, isn’t it.  Let me show you.”

Twilight decided to use a big poster of elements to display her new magic to Sugarcoat.  She raised her hands and created a magical aura around the poster and rolled it out and stuck it on the wall with some sticky tabs.  While that was going on, Sunset and Applejack were at the other side of the room.

“Is it just me, or is Sugarcoat hiding something from us,” Sunset whispered to Applejack.

She whispered back.  “I was thinking the same thing, but I didn’t want to pry into her life.  Maybe you can use your magical powers and see what she could be hiding?”

“I really don’t want to abuse my magic unless it was necessary.  Besides, Miss Luna said that most of the people on campus don’t know about our magic, so maybe we should just leave it be for now.  Besides, we have to make sure that the RA doesn’t even know about Spike in our room.”

“I hear you there.”

Twilight just finished showing off her magic to Sugarcoat.

“And that’s how it works,” said Twilight.  “I was scared that Midnight Sparkle was responsible for all this, but now we have new magic that can help others out.”

“But aren’t you afraid that someone will pressure you to use it for the wrong reasons?  I mean, after what we did to you at the Friendship Games, I’m sure someone would see that you have it and-”

“That won’t happen,” Sunset interrupted and she and Applejack joined the others.  “We plan to keep in unknown out in the world.  Only those closest to us know about what we have, and we need to keep it that way.”

“Besides, we’re in college,” Applejack said.  “No sense having to worry about any magic happening around us.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Sunset said.  “Twilight thinks there could be more magical stuff that was left in this world.”

Sugarcoat looked at Twilight and asked, “Is that so?”

“I think she was talking about Princess Twilight… from the other world.  You know, where all those tears that Midnight Sparkle created?  Sunset talks to her with a book that links this world to the other world.”

Applejack asked, “If that’s the case, how do we know when and where they could happen?”

“Glad you asked.”  Twilight went into a box and pulled out a broken purple locket.

“Isn’t that the locket that took all the magic that turned you into Midnight Sparkle when we forced you to unleashed the magic which Sunset also used to do the same and turn herself into Daydream Shimmer so that she can stop you from destroying our world with all those tears in reality?” Sugarcoat said matter of fact.

“Now there’s the Sugarcoat that we remember,” Applejack replied.

“Well, it is,” Twilight replied.  “I’m hoping that the chip still works once I put it back in this.”  She pulled out a device that looked like some kind of meter.  “It’s a P.K.E. meter.  It’s short for Psychokinetic Energy.  If it still works, we might be able to pick up any traces of Equestrian magic.”

Applejack asked, “And if it doesn’t work?”

“Well… to be honest, I really don’t know,” Twilight replied.  “I haven’t worked on this stuff since it was damaged at the Friendship Games.  So it’s been a long time since I’ve done this.  Ever since what happened to me back then, I’ve been trying to avoid it all.”

“But after what happened at Camp Everfree, that’s all in the past,” Spike added.

“Thanks, Spike.  Now I know I’m part of a team, and I’m going to do my part to help out.”

“And we’ll be here to help as well,” Sunset said.  “But since we’re on campus grounds, maybe we should just focus on working on our majors here.”

Sugarcoat asked, “If you’re from another world, why did you stay here after high school?”

“I’m working on majoring in psychology,” Sunset replied.  “I’m hoping that it can be helpful when I return to Equestria, if I decide to return.”

Before they could go on with their discussion, there was a faint sound of what was to be loud music coming from outside the room.  Applejack went and opened the door, only for the music to be echoed all the way down the hallway.

“What in tarnation is that racket?” Applejack yelled.

“You think that could be Rainbow Dash playing that music?” Sunset asked.

“Either that or Lemon Zest.  She and some of the Shadowbolts were coming here as well, from what I remember,” Sugarcoat explained.

“I have to agree with you there.  Lemon Zest would play music like that,” Twilight added.

Sunset said, “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

All of them made sure they grabbed their keys and left the room to find out who was playing the loud music.
> Ch. 2 - The Gang's Back Together
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset, Applejack, Sugarcoat, and Twilight, who was carrying Spike because he was trying to cover his ears, started to walk down to the other end of the hallway where the loud music was playing.  Hearing that is was rock music made them believe that it was either Rainbow Dash or Lemon Zest who was playing the loud music.  But as they were almost halfway there, one of the doors to their left opened up, and a girl with rose-like hair in a ponytail stick her head out.

“WHO’S PLAYING THAT LOUD MUSIC?”

The girls were about to recognize another former Shadowbolt in front of them.

“Sour Sweet?”

The girl turned around to see who was calling her name, and her eyes went wide open.

“TWILIGHT!”

Sour Sweet started to run towards Twilight, embracing her in a big hug.  Spike was started to get squished in and went to free himself from Sour’s hug.

“Is Twilight here?” said another girl with purple hair.  Two other girls stuck their heads out of the door, one with long pink hair, and another with short lavender hair.

Sunset was able to recognize the other girls.  “Rarity, Fluttershy,… and Sunny Flare?”

“Sunset, Applejack.  You both made it,” Rarity replied as she was walking up to them.

“Oh, and I see that Spike is here too,” Fluttershy added, also joining the group.

Spike heard his name called and ran up to her, jumping into her arms.  “Hi, Fluttershy.”

Sour Sweet released Twilight from her hug.  “I’m so glad to see you again.  I mean, after what we did to you at the Friendship Games and all.”

“Yea.  The school hasn’t been the same after you left,” Sunny Flare added, joining the group.

“I’ve already told them that,” Sugarcoat said.

“So… who’s rooming with who?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, I’m with Fluttershy,” Rarity explained.  “Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare was just visiting us from their room next door.”

“Which feels like a freezer in there,” Sunny Flare explained.  “I already called in about the A/C problem, so we were staying with the others until it was fixed.”

“We were surprised to have some former CPA students as our neighbors,” Rarity explained.

Sour Sweet kindly said, “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but,” then she blasted out, “CAN WE TAKE CARE OF THE LOUD MUSIC AT THE END OF THE HALLWAY?”

“She does have a point,” Sunset said.

The entire group decided to continue walking down the hallway to where the music was playing.  When they arrived at the end of the hallway, they came up to the door.  Applejack was about to bang on the door, but stopped short of doing so.

“Maybe you should do this, Sunset.  Don’t what to break down the door and all.”

Sunset nodded and went up to the door and banged it several times.  It wasn’t long before the door opened, blasting tons of music at the others, knocking them down and back against the wall.

“Dude, what is it?” said the girl with the long green hair.  She looked to see who it was and her eyes went wide open.  She turned back and yelled, “Dude, it’s Twilight.”

“What?”

“I said it’s Twilight.”

“WHAT?”  The other girl turned down the stereo.

“I SAID IT’S TWILIGHT!!!”

“You don’t have to yell, Lemon Zest.”  The girl with the blueish hair came up to the doorway and saw who it was.  “TWILIGHT!!!”  She rushed out and picked her up and embraced her in a bear hug.

“Indigo… can’t… breath.”

Indigo Zap let Twilight go so that she could catch her breath.

“Man, am I glad to see you here,” Indigo said.

“Why is everyone from Crystal Prep glad to see Twilight again?” Sunset asked and she and the others were getting back on their feet.

Before any of them could answer, someone yelled, “Hey, who turned down the music.  I was enjoying that.”

“RAINBOW DASH?”

The door next door opened, reveling a rainbow haired girl.  The girl let out a chuckle.  “What is this, the Friendship Games, Round 2?”

Another girl with pink puffy hair appeared out of nowhere behind her.  “The Friendship Games?  Does this me we get to have another party?” 

“Ha, ha.  Very funny,” Sunny Flare bluntly replied.

“No Pinkie Pie.  We’re not having another party,” Applejack said.  “But it’s nice to see that the gang is back together again.”

“Then can we have a ‘Getting the Gang Back Together’ party?”  Pinkie Pie let out a big grin.

Everyone face-palmed and let out groins at Pinkie’s remark.

Sunset decided to ask the question again.  “As I was saying, why are you girls glad to see Twilight again.  Last I recall, you girls forced her to release the magic that she stole from us and caused her to turn into a she demon.”  She looked to Twilight and said, “No offense.”

“It’s mainly Principal Cinch’s fault,” Sunny Flare said.

“Yea.  She started laying out stricter rules and harsher punishments ever since we lost at the Friendship Games,” Indigo Zap explained.

“But the games ended in a tie,” Applejack said.  “How can that be as a loss?”

“Because all she carried about was winning and keeping her reputation intact.  And the school hasn’t been doing so well since the Friendship Games.  So she makes it harder on us after every failure,” Sugarcoat explained matter of fact.

“Sounds like she only cares about her own pride,” Spike said.

“Dude.  You can still talk,” Lemon Zest said.

“Yep.”

“Cool.  And now the dude is gone from the school.  Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Lemon Zest said.

“Better late than never,” Indigo Zap added.  “At least you had it better at CHS.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck.  “Not really.  Camp Everfree was a different story.  I was still dealing with my fears of Midnight Sparkle taking over.  And now, we have these new magical powers and these geodes that turned into pendants.”

“And there’s no telling if there’s more Equestrian magic around,” Sunset added.  “If the sirens were sent to this world because they couldn’t be defeated in the other world, there’s no telling if anyone else were transported here.”

“Wait a minute.  You faced sirens?” Sour Sweet asked.

“Yea.  Three girls that tried to control the school and make them fight against each other with a battle of the bands,” Rainbow Dash explained.  “But we kicked their butts big time.”

“Dashie, dear.  While we did stop those three girls, we wouldn’t have done it without Sunset’s help,” Rarity added.

“Not to mention that we had to work together in the first place,” Applejack added.

“So what happen to them?” Indigo asked.

“They ran away,” Sunset replied.  “And without their magical pendants, they’re just three harmless teenage girls.”

“Well, I’m sure everything will be fine,” Indigo said.  “But if we come across any strange magic, we’ll let you know.  Having more eyes out there can make our would a safer place, right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Speaking of which, we might want to hide Spike right now, because I think that’s the resident hall director coming this way,” Sunny Flare said as she pointed to the other end of the hall.

The girls looked to see who it was, and half of them were surprised at who they were seeing.  A lady with purple pigtails, looking over a clipboard, was walking their way.

Applejack leaned next to Sunset and asked, “Am I seeing things, or is that who I think it is?”

“I’m seeing the same thing as you are,” Sunset replied.

“ARIA BLAZE!”

Aria looked up when she heard the girls call her name, and was shocked at who she saw.

“You have got to be kidding me.  YOU GIRLS AGAIN!!!”

“Yep.  It’s us again,” Pinkie replied.

Aria double check the list on her clipboard and saw their names on the list.  “You mean you girls are attending this school?  And living in this dorm?”

The girls nodded.

“Great.  This is just great.”  She started to walk towards the group.  “You even have to bring Princess Twilight Sparkle and her pal, Spike to make things worse for me.  And I thought things were looking up for me.  Fine.  If you want to blast me with your rainbow magic again, go right on ahead.  It’s not going to do any good on me.”

Twilight had a confused look on her face.

“Um, Aria.  This is the Twilight of this world.  Not the Princess of Friendship,” Sunset explained.

Aria went from anger to stunned as she blinked her eyes, trying to process what Sunset just said.

“You mean, this is not the princess from the other world?”

Sunset shook her head.

“And the dog is-”

“Just a simple dog that got blasted by magic who can now talk,” Spike said.

“Wait.  This dog… talks?”  Aria took a moment to collect herself as she leaned on the wall.  “What has this world come to.”

Sunset walked up to Aria.  “Perhaps you can explain to us why you’re here.”

“Well, for starters, I got a request from someone in Room 214 that there was a problem with the A/C unit.”

“That would be me,” Sunny Flare said as she raised her hand.

“Well, the unit should have been fixed a week ago.  It was hot in there,” Aria explained.

“Well, now it’s cold,” Sour Sweet replied.  “Cold enough as the South Pole!”

“What the-”  Aria grabbed her walkie talkie from her back pocket to speak into it.  “Hey Gears!”

“What is it, Aria,” he kindly replied causing Aria to blush.

Aria turned her back to the group and quietly said, “Never talk to me like that while I’m on duty.”  She turned back to the group.  “I’m in Clover dorm.  The A/C in Room 214 needs to be fixed again.  It’s too cold this time.”

“Let me finish up here, and I’ll be right on over.  Just make sure the unit is off until I look at it.”

“Thanks Gears.”  Aria put her walkie talkie away and looked back at the group, only to get weird looks from most of them.  “What?”

“Does Aria have a boyfriend?” Rarity said as she gave her a mysterious stare.

Aria panicked.  “Don’t look at me like that.”

“What’s wrong Aria.  Feeling soft today?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie Pie started to jump around Aria, saying, “Aria’s got a boyfriend.  Aria’s got a boyfriend.  Aria’s got a boyfriend.”

“Enough,” Aria said as she stopped Pinkie in her place.  She let out a sigh and explained.  “Yes, I do have a boyfriend.  In fact…”  Aria started to look away.  “He’s the one that… helped us out of a hole that we were in.”

“Care to explain,” Applejack said.

Aria said, “His name is Gear Works.  He’s in charge of the campus maintenance department.”

“I think I know the name,” Applejack said.  “Didn’t he graduate from CHS a few years ago?”

“Oh yes.  I remember hearing about him.  13 years of perfect attendance,” Fluttershy explained.

“I’ve heard the name too,” Sunset said.  “Met him with Miss Luna one day a couple of weeks ago after the Battle of the Bands.”

“In fact, that’s when it all began,” Aria said.





[Two Weeks after the Battle of the Bands]

“Found it!”

A blue haired girl came out of a dumpster with an empty plastic bottle in her hand.

“Wow.  Another bottle.  Nice,” Aria plainly said.

“Come on Aria.  It can help us buy some food,” Sonata said as she placed the bottle in a bag.

“That’s just pocket change,” Aria said.  “What good will it do to help feed all three of us?”

“Will you two just shut up.”  Adagio pinched the bridge of her nose in disgust.

“Well, if you have a better idea, we’re listening,” Aria said.  “Oh, that’s right.  You never have a backup plan.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Adagio replied in anger.

“You damn well know what it means,” Aria yelled.  “We have no magic, no way home, NOTHING!  That’s what it means.”

“And you think you have a better plan?”

“Maybe.  But you never bother to listen to them.”

“Because my plans are fool proof.”

“Then what just happen two weeks ago?  We got blasted, our pendants are broken, and you didn’t plan ahead in case the worst could happen, which it did!”

“Will you two just stop it!”  Sonata fell to her knees and started to cry.

“Great.  Look at what you did,” Aria said as she pointed to Sonata.

“Me?  You started it,” Adagio replied.

“You know what?  You are definitely the WORST!”  Aria started to walk away, only to bump into someone else, falling backwards to the ground.  “Hey! Watch it!”

“It was you who bumped into me.”

Aria looked at the guy.  He had tan skin and short brown hair, and was wearing a blue and yellow track suit with the EU logo on the corner of the jacket.

“Sounds like you girls are having problems.  Need some help?”

Adagio looked at the guy and decided to put on her charm.  “Why yes.  You see, we could use some help.”

“Will you just give it up,” Aria said as she got on her feet.  “No one wants to fall for a puffy haired girl like you.”

Adagio gritted her teeth.  “Will you just shut up.”

“We have no magic, no home, no money, and no food,” Sonata blurted out.

Adagio and Aria panicked and looked at the guy.

“Just forget what she just said.  She’s weird,” Aria said while displaying a fake smile.

“Yea.  We were just leaving,” Adagio said while also displaying a fake smile.

The two girls rushed out and grabbed Sonata by the arms and made a mad dash out of the alley.

The guy yelled back.  “You sure you don’t want my help… sirens?”

The girls stopped dead in their tracks, then looked back at the guy.

“How… how do you know?” Adagio asked.

“Because I was just coming from CHS.  The name’s Gear Works.  I graduated from the school a couple of years ago.  Thought I pay a visit this weekend.  Heard about what happened at the music showcase a couple of weeks ago.  And judging from what I just heard, you three are just struggling from what you did to the school back then.”

“What do you plan on doing to us?  Turn us in?” Aria asked.

“Actually, I was hoping to help you out,” Gears replied.  “How would you like to work at Equestria University.  I’m the chief maintenance worker over there, and I’m sure the president can find work for you there, since he was a former principal at CHS.  You can get paid, eat, live a normal life.  You can even stay at my place.  I have enough room for the three of you to stay there.”

Aria asked, “What’s the catch?”

“You work hard, prove to the rest of the staff what you can do, and you might just get rewarded.”

The girls got together and huddled.  Each of them talked about the offer that was given to them before giving a response.  The girls got out of their huddle and said together, “We’ll do it!”





“And that’s how we got to here,” Aria said.

“And where are Adagio and Sonata?” Sunset asked.

“Sonata works at the cafeteria, and Adagio works as Mr. Discord’s assistant, plus she also works at the library at times.  As for me… well you see what I do for a living.  But I work at the University Center’s coffee shop in the evenings.”

“So you’ve changed, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Aria let out a chuckle.  “I guess so.  Look, I’m sorry for what we did back then.  All we wanted to do was go back home.  That’s all.”  She paused for a moment.  “I guess wearing those gems took control of our lives.”

“Well, at least they’re not like these beauties.”  Rarity started to display her pendant to Aria.

“Is that… Equestria magic?”

Sunset said, “You sense it too, right?”

Aria nodded.  “Yea.  It feels so… pure.  How did you get them?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Well, you might have to tell me later on when I have some free time.  For now, I have to get back to work.  Still have to check up on a few more issues in the dorms.  Just make sure you keep that dog out of sight.  I don’t think other RA’s will handle you having a dog in the dorms.  Especially one that talks.”  As Aria started to walk off, she turned back to the group and said, “You know, I think Adagio would like to speak to you if you have some time.  I think she has been dealing with the same guilt that I’ve dealt with.”

“Where can we meet her?” Sunset asked.

“Let me find out.”  Aria pulled out her cell phone and placed a call.

“So… she’s a siren?” Sunny Flare asked.

“Was,” Sunset replied.  “It looked like things have changed since we saw them.”

“Just like us,” Indigo said.

“Well, everyone does deserve a second chance, right?” Rarity asked, which everyone agreed.

“Hey.  Just got off the phone with Adagio,” Aria yelled.  “Think you can meet her at Johnny’s in an hour?”

“Where is it?” Sunset yelled back.

“Just across the main building at the front of campus.  Can’t miss it.”

As Aria walked back down the hallway, she stop to help a couple of students trying to get into their dorm room.  The girls were able to hear the conversation and looked to see who it was.  One of the girls had light yellow skin, average red hair with purple highlights with part of it tied up on top, and was wearing broken glasses and a turtleneck sweater.  The other had light blue skin, long pink hair with purple highlights, and was wearing a rocking leather jacket and pants and shades.

“Now who wears a sweater during the summer?” Sunny Flare said.

“Forget about her.  Do you see the other lady with her?” Rarity asked.

Sunny Flare looked at her and said, “Is that-”

“Countess Coloratura!?”  Both Rarity and Sunny Flare tried to hide their excitement.

“I can’t believe she’s attending campus here… in our dorm,” Rarity said.

“That girl must be lucky to have her as her roommate,” Sunny Flare said.

Twilight looked at the two girls that they were talking about, and was able to recognize the other girl.

“I think that other girl is… Moon Dancer?”  Twilight started to run towards the two girls, waving her hand.  “Moon Dancer!”

The yellow girl looked to see who was calling her name.  “Twilight?  Twilight Sparkle?”

Both of them started to smile when they saw each other.  Twilight was about to hug Moon Dancer, but stopped short when she saw her holding a box in her hands.  Moon Dancer went to put the box inside, then came back out to hug Twilight.

“Twilight.  I can’t believe it’s you.”  Moon Dancer released her from their hug.  “You’re… wearing glasses?”

“I know,” Twilight jokingly said.  “Too much reading in a dimmed room.”

“You know how that can affect your eye sight.”

“A little late for that,” Twilight said as she let out a small laugh.

“Hey Twilight,” Sunset said as she ad the others were able to join her.

“Sunset.  This is a friend of mine from middle school, Moon Dancer.  Her family moved to Manehattan before I started attending Crystal Prep.  We do out best to keep in touch but…”

“But both of us were busy with our studies,” Moon Dancer finished.

Twilight continued.  “These are my other friends from Canterlot High.  Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack.  And these are my former classmates from Crystal Prep.  Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare, Sour Sweet, and Sugarcoat.”

“You attended two schools?” Moon Dancer asked.

“Really long story.  You might not even believe it.”

“I might have to hear about when I have the time.”

Coloratura started to look at Twilight’s friends and started straight at Applejack.

“AJ?”

Applejack was a bit confused.  “Um, yes?  Do we know each other?”

“AJ.  It’s me, Rara.”  She removed her shades so that Applejack can see her face clearly.

Applejack tried to make sense to what Coloratura was saying.  Coloratura looked up at her own hair.

“Oh, sorry.  I forgot that I dyed my hair.  It was dark the last time we met at Camp Friendship.”

Applejack started to get a mental picture of her and started to remember who she was.  “Rara?  Is that really you?”

Coloratura went up to Applejack and embraced her in a hug.  “It’s been too long.”  She released her from their hug and took a good look at her.  “You’ve gotten a bit stronger since last we met.”

“Working on the farm can do that to you,” Applejack replied.  “I knew you wanted to get into music, but I never expect to see you like this.  And what’s with the name, Coloratura.”

“That was my real name.  I only liked to be called Rara because of how long my name was.”

“That’s fine and all, but why are you here.  Sounds like you’re some fancy superstar,” Applejack said.

“That’s because she is,” Rarity said.

“More like ‘was’.  I’ve put my music career in the back seat and decided to live a somewhat normal life,” Coloratura explained.

“Yea.  After what her manager was trying to do during her career,” Moon Dancer added.

“I hate to interrupt this reunion, but we need to meet someone in less than an hour,” Sunset said.

“Oh right.  Maybe we can catch up later on?” Applejack asked.

“Sure.  Which room are you in?” Coloratura asked.

“Room 203.  and Twilight’s in Room 201, Moon Dancer.”

“Thanks.  Once we get settled in, we can start catching up later on,” Moon Dancer explained.

“That would be nice,” Twilight said.

As some of the girls started to make their way to the stairs, the former Shadowbolts decided to ask them something.

“You don’t mind if we join you,” Sunny Flare asked.

“Yea.  Last thing I want to do is wait in a cold room,” Sour Sweet added.

“Sure,” Sunset replied.  “Besides, it would be nice to talk some more until she gets there.”

“Good,” Indigo said.  “Because I’m starving.”

“I think we all could use something good to eat,” Applejack said.

So, after dropping Spike off in Twilight’s room, the twelve girls started making their way to Johnny’s to meet up with Adagio Dazzle.
> Ch. 3 - A New Adagio
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As all twelve girls were walking to the front of the campus grounds, Sunset Shimmer was explaining to the former Shadowbolts about how they faced the sirens during the Battle of the Bands that they created, and how Sunset had to redeem herself in the process.  Learning that they no longer have any magical powers since their defeat, the girls were hoping that Adagio had finally changed, just like Aria did.

They were able to see the small restaurant across the street from the front of the campus grounds with the “Johnny’s” sign on it.  From the outside, it looked like an old style burger joint.  But once they were able to cross the street and make it inside, it really looked like an old burger joint.  Seeing the red stools in the front and the booths to the sides was proof enough.  But the black menu sign with the white letters and red numbers attached to it made it feel really old.

“Is it just me, or did we travel into the past,” Sunny Flare said.

“Hey.  You don’t see me complaining about my home like that,” Applejack explained.  “Some people like the vintage look.”

“Plus, it has passed proper inspections to maintain the place,” Rarity said as she pointed to the inspection report with the number 98 written on it.  “It might be old, but if the money earned is going to food, maintenance, and workers, then maybe it shouldn’t be a big deal about image.”

“Spoken like a true owner.”  The girls looked to the guy running the iron grill in front of him.  He had light brown skin and short white hair, and had an average build for an old man.  He turned around to greet the girls.  “Name’s Johnny Grill.  Been running this place for over 40 years, and no one that has come here often has ever complain about it.  Although I spent the past ten years expanding it with the empty room next door.”

“Well, it doesn’t look all too busy,” Rainbow Dash said, noticing a couple of customers on the stools.

“That’s because it’s a Saturday, and everyone is still checking in to the dorms,” Johnny explained.  “It gets really busy during the weekday lunch hour, that’s for sure.  I’m guessing you girls are new here, right?”

“Yes.  We were meeting an… old friend here who works on campus,” Sunset explained.

“Well, grab you a few booths and the miss’s will be glad to take your orders.”

So the girls went over and found three empty booths next to each other.  Fluttershy, Rarity, Sunny Flare, and Sour Sweet sat at the first booth.  Sunset, Twilight, Sugarcoat, and Applejack sat at the next one.  And Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie took the last one.  One of the servers came up behind each booth and took their orders before walking back and handed them to Johnny, and returning with their drinks.  With some time to kill, the girls decided to talk about what they are planning to do for college.

“So, what are you girls majoring in?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash was the first one to speak.  “Well, turns out that me and Indigo have the same major in Athletics.”

“Yea.  I also got a scholarship with the girl’s basketball team,” Indigo said.

“And I got mine with the co-ed soccer team,” Rainbow added.  “But I might try out with the girl’s basketball team when that comes around, just to help Indigo out.”

“Hey, you weren’t that bad when we faced each other in high school,” Indigo explained.  “I’m sure you’ll make the team.”

“Well, I do plan to major in business,” Rarity said.  “I want to expand my fashion business when I’m done here.”

“I been meaning to ask, but who’s running the boutique while you’re here?” Applejack asked.

“Sassy Saddles.  She started working there last year,” Rarity explained.  “I do admit that it was a rough start working with her on how I run things, making sure she understood that each dress must be unique to its owner.  But she was able to understand after working for a few months.  And we do plan to keep in touch with work whenever we can.  What about you, Fluttershy?”

“Well… um… I’m working in the university’s medical department in nursing.  I want to be a veterinarian and help out more at the animal shelter.”

“Well, you do know how to communicate with animals,” Sunset said.  “Should make things easier for you.”

“Well, I’m majoring in theater,” Sunny Flare said with dramatic flare.

“Better be careful, Sunny.  You might have some competition,” Rarity said.

“And why’s that?”

“Trixie’s majoring in that as well,” Rarity explained.

“You mean The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Rainbow replied, trying to imitate Trixie’s talk in third person.  Rarity nodded, to which Rainbow replied, “Please.  As long as she doesn’t get carried away, I’m sure that Sunny will have no problem with her.”

It was Pinkie who went next.  “Guess what I’m majoring?”

“What, partying?” Sour Sweet asked.

“No silly.  Visual Arts.”

“I would have never thought of you to enter a field like that,” Sunset said.

“Well dud.  Partying is an art.  And I want to make my parties stand out for everyone,” Pinkie replied.

Applejack replied, “Typical Pinkie.”

“What about you, Lemon?” Pinkie asked.

“Music Education.”  Everyone just stared at Lemon Zest.  “What?  I think it’s cool to teach music to others.”

“Guess that could explain why you brought your keyboard on campus,” Indigo said.

“Isn’t Flash majoring in that as well?” Applejack asked.

“I think he’s majoring in Music Performance,” Sunset replied.  “But don’t be surprised to see him around, Lemon.  What about you, Twilight?”

“Oh.  Um, Computer Science.  I mean, I like to do lots of research here and there and invent things, so I though it would be best to focus in that field.”

“I think that suits you well,” Sugarcoat said.  “I’m focusing on Physical Science, with a minor in Mathematics.”

“I’m actually focusing on Agriculture,” Applejack said.  “I’m hoping it can help me out with the farm better.”

“And who’s helping out on the farm while you’re here?” Rarity asked, since Applejack asked about her business.

“Lyra and Bonbon.  They’re attending a community college back in Canterlot and helping out with Big Mac on the farm for some extra money.  I will say this, we have had a few times that the farm was hit hard with bad weather.  I’m hoping that I can find a better way for the farm to last longer, since mom and dad passed away long ago.  Granny Smith can’t keep it up forever and work at the school at the same time.”

“What are you majoring in, Sour Sweet,” Twilight asked.

“Psychology.”

“I’m majoring in that as well,” Sunset said.  “Is there a reason that you wanted to major in that field?”

“Well… for starters, I’m trying to understand my condition,” Sour explained.  “I know it’s bipolar, but not sure in detail.”

“They thought it could be schizophrenia, but others thought it was something else,” Sunny Flare explained.  “Soon then, she’s looking through various reports and news articles and… well, she got hooked on it.  Now she wants to learn more about mental conditions and how she can help others adjust to them.”

Sunset looked at Sour Sweet and asked, “Are you taking any meds?”

“Platinum pills for now.  It’s… kinda helping out.”

“But she still has her outburst now and then,” Sunny Flare added.  “I have to keep a close eye on her.”

Sour Sweet rolled her eyes and said “Thanks a lot… mother.”

“So I can guess you have Mr. Discord as your guidance councilor, right?” Sunset asked.

“No.  Dr. Chrysalis Changeling,” Sour replied.  “Do they both work in the same department?”

“Well, this came from Miss Luna, but his real name is Dr. Discord Draconequus.  Besides being the former principal of CHS, he also specializes in psychology and was selected to be the new president of Equestria University.  He understands students very well and knows when problems come up in their lives.  He only likes to be called Mr. Discord because of his last name.  Everyone that knew him at CHS called him that.  Although, I must say, he’s not quite like the Discord from my world, but I was told that he has changed since then. But I have heard of the name Chrysalis from my world, through Princess Twilight.”

“How about you hold off with that,” Applejack said, because she noticed that their food was coming their way.

“Here you go.  I believe you two wanted the salad.”  The server handed the salads to Rarity and Fluttershy.  “And the others wanted burgers.”  She started to hand out some of the orders that she could carry, then went back to collect the remaining orders and handed them to the rest of the girls, along with a plate of fries for each booth.  “Fries are on the house, courtesy of Johnny himself.  Enjoy.”

“Might fine of him to do that,” Applejack said.

“We should give them a special tip for the service,” Rarity said, to which they all nodded.

As they were eating their meals, a professional lady with yellow skin and orange puffy hair walked in, dressed in a white blouse, black skirt down to her knees, and black heals.  She was carrying a big white purse over her shoulder.  Johnny looked to great the lady that walked in.

“Adagio.  I didn’t expect you to show up today.”

“Hi Johnny.  I’m just here to see some friends of mine.”

“You must be the girls over there,” Johnny replied, pointed to the three booths at the side.

Adagio looked and said, “Yep, that’s them.  Can you fix up my usual, please?”

“Sure thing.”

Adagio started to walk towards the girls in their booths.  Applejack was the first to notice, because she had the best view.

“Looks like the lead siren finally showed up.”

Sunset looked over and saw the same thing.  “Twilight, can you sit on the other side.  I want to make sure she’s not here to cause any trouble.”

Twilight did what she asked and went over with her food and sat next to Sugarcoat.  Adagio saw this and sat down next to Sunset.  There was an awkward silence before Adagio spoke.

“I guess you heard from Aria about what happened to us.  And yes, things have changed for us.”

“We’ll believe it when we see it,” Rainbow Dash said.

Adagio sighed and continued.  “Look.  What we did back then was wrong, I know that.  Being possessed by those pendants and living in this world for so long can have an effect on us.  We wanted to return home, but being sent to this world was our punishment… and we deserve it.”

“What about what you did to our school?” Rarity asked.  “You took control of everyone and turned them against us.  You even did the same to us, even if you didn’t use your pendants on us.”

Adagio looked back at Rarity, then looked forward and sighed again.  “Look.  I thought those pendants… those gems, were a gift to us.  Now I think they were nothing more than a curse.  If anyone deserves true magic, it’s you girls.  Me and my sisters don’t even deserve it.”

Applejack started at Adagio and said, “If I didn’t know any better, I be thinking that you’re telling the honest truth.”

“It is.  Ever since we got new jobs here, I’ve been reflecting on the past and all of the mistakes that I made.  And I can say this-”  Adagio looked at Sunset and said, “I can understand what you went through and how you were able to redeem yourself in front of others.  And I knew I needed to do the same.”

“And have you?” Sunset asked.

“I’m getting there.  I think Sonata had it easier to do that than me or Aria.  Although, Aria now has a boyfriend to get her through it.”

“SO WE NOTICED!”  The girls laughed.

“Yea.  Both her and Sonata are lucky,” Adagio said.

“You mean Sonata has a boyfriend as well?” Pinkie Pie said with excitement.

“Yea.  He’s… different, that’s for sure.  Best you hear it from her when you see her.  She’s been busy getting the cafeteria ready before freshman orientation begins.  But enough about me and my sisters.  What is this Equestrian magic that I’m sensing from you girls.  Or should I say the pendants that you’re wearing.”

“You can sense it too, right?” Sunset asked Adagio, when she replied with a nod.  “We’re not sure how they got here, but we think they were meant to belong to us.  Have you sense any Equestrian magic anywhere?”

“Not since the Battle of the Bands,” Adagio replied.  “I didn’t think I could sense it until now.  I’m guessing it runs in our blood.  But if what I heard from is right, there could be more of it anywhere, which could become a problem if it was in the hands of any human.  You already saw it at Camp Everfree.”

“How did you know about all this?” Applejack asked Adagio.

“Your principal told me about it.  And before you ask, yes I did meet her and her sister when they were called over her to resolve a problem at Crystal Prep.  I told her not to bring me or my sisters up about working here.  I figure you have bigger problems to deal with.  And after what happened at the Friendship Games and Camp Everfree, you already have your hands full.”

“When did you meet them?” Twilight asked her.

“A few months after the Friendship Games.  Principal Cinch wanted to expel some students that took part in the games.  I think it was you five,” as she was pointing to the five former Shadowbolts.

“Wait a minute.  We were about to be expelled?” Indigo asked.

“You mean you didn’t know?”

Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare said, “No!”  But they soon noticed that Sugarcoat didn’t respond.

“Sugarcoat, do you know anything about this?” Sunny Flare asked.

“Well…”

Sunset reached out for her hand.  “Look, you can-”  But before she could finish, she started to see a vision from Sugarcoat.  She was leaning next to the door to the Principal Cinch’s office.

“Damn it.  This school has become a disgrace.  Ever since those so-called Friendship Games, the students can’t even achieve what they should be.  And even though I tried to place stricter rules for the school, they still slack off.  No doubt it’s those five girls who decided to turn against me after that so-called magic show I saw.  Well, if you want to fix the system, then you have to remove the root of the problem.  And expelling those students well do quite well.  If I can do it with Twilight, then I can do so with them as well.”

Sunset’s vision came to an end.  She looked at Sugarcoat and asked, “Was Cinch trying to… blackmail you like she did to Twilight?”

Sugarcoat responded.  “Yes.  I was on my way to deliver the student board report when I heard a noise from her office.  I listened in and heard her talking about expelling the five of us from the school… or that’s what I believed it to be.  So I went to see Dean Cadence and told her what I heard.  All she said was to forget about it and that she would deal with it personally.  That’s why I never said anything about it.”

“And it was a good thing you did,” Adagio said.  “Mr. Discord got a call from her about what was going on and decided to have a… talk with the others.”





Adagio was working at her desk when two ladies came walking up to her.

“Ms. Abacus Cinch and Miss Cadence are here to see the Dr. Discord Draconequus,” Cinch said.

Adagio got up and walked to the door to his office.  “Ah yes.  They are waiting for you.  This way please.”

“They?” Cinch replied with a raised eyebrow.

Adagio opened the door and went in, with Cinch and Cadence following her.  As they walked in, they saw Mr. Discord at his desk and two familiar ladies sitting on one side of the room.

Cinch saw them and said, “I hope there’s a reason for Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna to be here.”

“There is… Ms. Cinch.”  A man on the other side of the room turned around to face them.  He had gray skin and black hair, and was dressed in a black business suit.

“Mr. Sombra Umbra.  I wasn’t-”

“Sit! Down!”  Sombra commanded Cinch after cutting her off.

Cinch was startled at first, but went on ahead and sat at one of the remaining two seats next to Sombra, with Cadence sitting in the chair next to her.  Adagio went around Mr. Discord’s desk and stood next to him.  With everyone in place, Mr. Discord decided to speak first.

“Now, the reason I called you here is that I have been hearing some… strange things going on between Canterlot High and Crystal Prep.  Something about… magic going on in the schools?  Would you care to explain, Celestia?”

A small, evil grin came across Cinch’s face.

“Well, there have been some… magical events happening in our school in the past few years,” Celestia explained.

“Yes.  I heard about what happened at one of our Fall Formal’s and the destruction of the front wall and grounds.  Not to mention seeing to it that the costs were covered for the repairs,” Discord said.

“Then there was the Music Festival that turned into the Battle of the Bands,” Luna added.

“Of course.  What was believed to be some new students decided to take control of the school for their own… personal reasons,” Discord said while giving a glance at Adagio.

“And then there was the Friendship Games, where and few incidents happened,” Celestia said.

“Incidents that involved the use of magic to win,” Cinch decided to add.

“If I recall, you tried to use that same thing on your best student yourself,” Luna corrected.

“Excuse me, but-”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”  Sombra decided to cut Cinch off again.  “I have heard what happened at the Friendship Games from the Dean herself.  And I was not impressed with your work.  You decided to blackmail you smartest student to compete, even though her athletic skills were not up to standards in the event.”

“But archery is-”

“Archery is a sport that requires strength and skill, which she lacks, from what I have been told,” Sombra explained again.  “Something you should have thought of at the time.

“Well, they won that event after vine-like creatures came out of nowhere,” Cinch explained.  “If that’s not magic, then what is?”

“Those vines came from the magic that your student was trying to take during her research while she was here,” Luna said.  “And another of your students would have been lunch if it wasn’t for one of our students to come to their rescue.”

“So you do admit that you cheated,” Cinch responded.

“Principal Cinch, the ones that passed the finish line used no magic what so ever.  The final stage of the race was a fair race from what I saw,” Cadence said.

“So you’re going to side with them,” Cinch told Cadence.

Discord decided to intervene.  “Now, now.  I believe there is more to this.  If you will continue, Sombra.”

“What I heard next was what disturbs me.  You decided to blackmail Twilight again in releasing this… magic.  In return, she turned into some demon like creature and nearly destroyed the school and all the students that was there, including students from Crystal Prep.”

“Well, its just-”

“I do not want to hear your excuses,” Sombra said as he cut Cinch off for a third time.  “You risk the lives of others just to win a game that me and Discord created to bring our schools together?  This is not some competition.  It was designed to be done in good sport, nothing else.  And now, I’m hearing that you plan to expel some students because they wouldn’t side with you after what happen during the games?”

“Those students were not living up to their standards for the school,” Cinch explained.

“After you decided to make the school stricter?” Cadence said.  “I think not.”

“And what would you know, Cadence,” Cinch replied.

Before they could continue, Adagio placed her hand on Discord’s shoulder.  “Perhaps I should resolve this.”  Discord looked at her and gave her the nod.  Adagio walked on over to where Cinch was at and spoke.

“Perhaps you don’t understand how magic works in this world, especially Equestrian Magic.”  Cinch was about to interrupt, but stopped when she heard Adagio’s words.  “You see, magic can be used for good… or evil.  It depends on who possesses it and how it can be used.  Now from what I have heard, Twilight didn’t know what she was getting into.  And when you threaten her to use this magic that she collected, you never thought about how it would be used on her, just like you had no knowledge of her lack of athletic skills.  But luck would have it that a girl from Canterlot High would have the knowledge on magic that she would be able to stop the damage that Twilight caused and save her from the corruption that you caused on her.”

“And what makes you say that?” Cinch asked.

“You heard about what happened at the Battle of the Bands.  That work was MY doing,” Adagio said as she faced Cinch from the side.  “And it was the same kind of magic from the same girl and her friends that defeated us.  And you know what?  I should be glad that they did that, because it freed me from the siren’s curse, just like it freed Twilight from the magic that she tried to take, only for it to have a will of its own.  But none of that wouldn’t have happened if you haven’t pressured her into releasing it in front of her.  So everything that happen back then… was your doing.  So don’t go placing blame on others for your own work.  You caused this pain and placed it on the school and its students.  Remember that.”

Cinch was unable to respond to what Adagio explained.  So it was Sombra’s turn to respond.

“I value the best for my students when I created Crystal Prep.  And I expect them to be the best.  But forcing them to be perfect just to see all the awards on display is not what I expect in return.  I expect my students to make mistakes and learn from them, so that it will help them grow.  If they are the best, that is fine with me.  But students need to be ready to make a name for themselves in the real world, and be ready to rise to the challenge and accept failure if that was to happen.  That is what Crystal Prep was made to be.  Unfortunately, you have forgotten what the school’s purpose was just so you would care about your own pride in the school.”

When Cinch heard all this, she was at a loss for words.  Nothing she could say would fix the damage that she has caused to the school.

“So, you have anything to say about all this?” Discord asked.

Cinch’s reply was a simple “No.”

“Sombra?  This was your school.  How would you like to resolve all this?” Discord asked.

“I think it would be wise to take some time away from the school and start reflecting on everything that she has done,” Sombra said.  “What do you say about that?”

Cinch took a moment to think about it before giving her answer.  “I’ll… I shall resign… at the end of the school year.  I will leave it up to you, Sombra, on who should take my place as principal of the school.  I feel… that I have failed as a principal of the school.  I know that the students that took part in the Friendship Games will have graduated by that time, but there are other students that need the proper guidance to make a future for themselves.”

Cinch decided to get up and walk out of the office, feeling defeated.





“Damn.  That was harsh, dude,” Lemon Zest said.

“I never knew that Mr. Sombra can be that hard when someone doesn’t do what he wants them to do,” Indigo Zap explained.

“Well, I do recall that he wanted the school’s students to be the best, but I never expect that he would want us to fail as well,” Sunny Flare said.  “But I guess if you do fail, you have to pick yourself back up and try again.”

“Something that I’ve been doing since I got here,” Adagio said.

It was then that Johnny walked up and handed Adagio her usual order, a burger and milkshake.  “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Johnny.”

Johnny walked back to his grill.  Adagio decided to take a big bite of the burger and was lost in the taste.  This got some unusual looks from the girls, which she caught on to.

“What?  You never seen a lady eat a burger?  These things are good.  And the milkshakes aren’t half bad either.”

“Well, a lady needs to spoil herself once in a while,” Rarity said.

“I guess it’s true.  You really have changed,” Applejack said.

“You know, if Mr. Discord and Mr. Sombra know about your past, is there anyone else that knows about this, besides Aria’s boyfriend,” Sunset asked Adagio.

“Was hoping you ask that.  There are two other professors that know about me.  One of them is Chrysalis.  I think one of you have her as a guidance councilor.”

“That would be me,” Sour Sweet said as she raised her hand.

“Well, she’s not quite like the one from our world.  And yes, I have met her long ago.  But this one’s a bit different.  She likes to get inside your head and get an idea of what you’re dealing with.  Had a few sessions before that meeting with Cinch.  Helped me understand what I was going through and what I should be doing with my life.  And don’t let the green bug eyes fool you.  They’re contact lenses that she likes to wear.”

“And what about the other one,” Sunset asked.

“She’s one that might help you with your magic search.  Her name is River Song.  She’s in charge of the History department, but also works in archeology and astronomy, which are rare classes to have on campus.  She likes to spend her summers overseas on some research trip.  But this past summer, she came across something… magical.”  She pulled out what look like a tabloid from her purse and opened it to a page that she had tabbed.  “She came across a girl over in the Middle East who was trying to remove a curse from some bracelet that was stuck on her.  And it involved an event back in Manehattan.  The girl in question was facing some pharaoh that woke from the dead.  I know it sounds strange, but I’m not sure if it could be connected to Equestria or not.”

Sunset took a look at the tabloid.

“Not to sound offensive, but tabloids are used to so people can get money on stories that aren’t even true,” Sunny Flare said.

“Maybe so.  But not this one.”  Sunset handed the tabloid to Twilight.  “Take a look at the picture at the bottom.”

Twilight looked at the picture.  It wasn’t clear, but it looked like a girl holding up her arm in front of some strange figure.  The girl was wearing what looked like a turtle neck sweater.  “Is that… Moon Dancer?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Sunset said.  “Does she wear sweaters like that?”

“Yes.  Her skin’s sensitive to the sun, so she wears sweaters and long sleeve shirts like these.  But why would she be a part of this.”

Adagio explained.  “Well, I was told that she would be attending EU this year, and figure that you would keep an eye out for her.  But if you know her, that should make it easier.  River Song was able to help her remove the curse, but also asked her to hold on to the bracelet so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.  There might be magic in it, there might be not.  I’m not sure, but if it could be from Equestria…”

“We should be able to sense it,” Sunset said.  “Perhaps it’s time to exchange some magic stories with each other.  Then she might reveal it to us, if she has it.”

“I would have to agree,” Twilight said.  “But what if it’s not Equestrian magic?”

“Then it’s one less worry for all of us,” Adagio said.  “But Sunset, just remember this.  There might be magical forces that don’t come from Equestria.  If that’s the case, then the magic you hold may not work on other types of magic.  I still remember the difference between the anger I took form the other students and from you girls, and they were both different.”

“So while our powers have some usefulness on others, it may not work to take down any threats that are not related to Equestria,” Sunset said.  “We may have not come across anything like that, but it’s best to be cautious about what we face in the future.  Thanks for telling us this, Adagio.”

“No problem.  I’m starting to get tired of all these curses going around, Equestrian or not.  And I don’t think anyone else needs to do the same.  Now are you girls going to finish your lunch, or do you plan to let it get cold.  Johnny makes the best burgers in the area.”

They all agreed, to which Sunset said, “Can’t argue with you there.”
> Ch. 4 - Magic, Monsters, and Managers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight, Sunset, Applejack, Sugarcoat, and Spike were talking to Moon Dancer and Rara back in the dorms about the magical events that have taken place during the Friendship Games and again at Camp Everfree.  Not to mention the Battle of the Bands and the Fall Formal that started it all.  Moon Dancer and Rara took it all in and were a bit surprised at what they heard.  Just a bit.

“So you came from another world that’s a mirrored version of this world?” Moon Dancer asked Sunset.

“Yep,” Sunset replied.

“And not only did you… pony up when you protected this princess from that world, but again when you faced the sirens, who now work on campus?” Rara asked Applejack.

“Eeyep,” Applejack replied.

“And then you tried to take the magic from them, which turned you into some dark creature that ripped open the portals to that world?” Moon Dancer asked Twilight.

“Yep,” Replied Twilight and Sugarcoat in unison.

“And then you learned how to control the magic and received those pendants in the process at Camp Everfree?” Rara asked all of them.

“That just about sums it up,” Spike replied.  “Not to mention that I can talk.”

Moon Dancer was almost at a loss for words.  “I… I can hardly believe it.”

“Then maybe you can explain us about this.”  Sunset pulled out the tabloid that Adagio handed her and showed Moon Dancer the article that had a blurred image of her.

“Well, no sense keeping it a secret.”  Moon Dancer handed the tabloid back to Sunset.  Then she rolled up her sleeve to reveal the golden bracelet that they have heard about.

“So it is true,” Twilight replied.  “How did it all happen?”

Moon Dancer decided to explain.  “Happened just after we graduated.  I started to work at the museum to get some extra money before coming to college.  One of the professors there found some Egyptian artifacts, and I was busy cleaning them up for display.  One of them was this bracelet that belonged to an old pharaoh from long ago.  Some robbers showed up and tried to take the items, but were stopped by the police.  In that process, I tried to stop them from taking the items, to which some of them fell out of the bag.  I lost my balance and fell to the ground, to which my wrist fell on the bracelet, locking it in place.  I tried to take it off, but it wouldn’t come off.

“So I asked the professor in charge and showed him what had happened.  He did some research and found out that it was believed to be cursed.  Once it was locked onto its host, it can never be removed.  What’s worse is that it awaken the pharaoh from its slumber, which was also in a coffin in the museum.  I spent over a week in learning how to remove the curse and stop the pharaoh at the same time.  Luckily, Rara and a few friends of our help me in stopping the pharaoh when we learned how to seal him back into the underworld where he belong.

“But removing the cursed bracelet was another problem.  I had to go to the Middle East to find the place that it was created.  Rara had enough money to get us a trip over there safely, so we went there to have the curse removed.  That was when we met a professor who I believe works on campus.  Professor River Song, I believe.  She said that she might know where it was created.  But it was a challenge getting there, trying to avoid the traps that were placed there in the process.

“Once we got to the source, getting this thing was more of a challenge, because there was no key that could unlock it.  Turns out that we had to solve one more puzzle to help unlock it.  So we solved the puzzle by shining the light that was coming in to the room to a certain spot.  We were able to remove the curse and remove the bracelet.  But there was one more problem.  We also learned that it was bounded to me and me alone.  While the curse was gone, I was stuck with the bracelet.  The professor said that I should hold on to it in hopes that it can be used for good, not to mention that it would be safer in my hands.  So… now I’m stuck with it.”

“Can I see it?” Sunset asked.  Moon Dancer agreed and took the bracelet off her wrist and handed it to Sunset.  She looked it over and sensed something different about it.  “Well, it’s not Equestrian, like our pendants.  But there is some kind of strange magic coming from it.  It’s something that I haven’t felt in my life.”  She handed the bracelet back to Moon Dancer.  “If it has magic in it, and it’s bound to you, then you should be careful how you use it until you can learn more about it first.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Moon Dancer replied.  “I’ve been doing some research myself, but haven’t found enough info about what it could do.  Right now, it’s touch and go.  If I had a scanner made, I could be able to study it better.”

Sunset looked at Twilight and asked, “What about that P.K.E. meter you have?  Can it still work?”

Moon Dancer’s eyes went wide open.  “You mean you were able to make a P.K.E. meter?”

“Well, kinda.”  She went to her box and pulled out the old meter that was without the working chip in it.  “But the chip is badly damaged.”  That was when she pulled out the broken locket that was used back in the Friendship Games.  “I’m not sure if I can repair it of not.”

“Let me see it.”  Twilight pulled the chip out of the locket and handed it to Moon Dancer.  She took a good look at it and explained what she saw.  “It looks like some of the parts can be replaced.  I have a soldering kit and some various nodes and such to get it working.  But I can’t make out some of the finer details on the chip.  If only I had a microscope to use.”

“Wait just one moment.”  Sugarcoat ran back into her dorm room and came back with an old lab microscope.  “Will this do?”

“Perfect!”

Sugarcoat laid it on the desk and plugged it in so that the light could look.  Moon Dancer took the chip and laid it on the display glass.  She lifted her glasses up and looked into the microscope, checking the details of the chip.

“How were you able to get something like that?” Twilight asked.

“It belonged to my father,” Sugarcoat replied plainly.  “He was a lab scientist back in the day.  So he gave it to me as a college present for my studies.”

“You should see the box of samples that came with it,” Applejack added.  “There’s a lot of plant cells and skin cells and who knows what else.  I never knew they would keep samples of everything for compassion use.”

“You would be surprised as to what else they try to save for research,” Sugarcoat said.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you mention that you had others that helped you against the pharaoh,” Sunset said.  “Should they be someone that we should know?”

“Oh yea,” Rara replied.  “They actually attend this school with us.  But they’re sophomores here.  Sea Spray, who’s an expert swimmer and deep sea diver.  Crab Hammer, who doesn’t talk a lot, but his father works in the construction business.  And Gem Stardust, who kinda reminds me of you, AJ, but is more towards the theater life.  But she’s a cowgirl at heart, that’s for sure.”

“I would like to meet her someday,” Applejack replied.  “And something tells me that Crab Hammer could be more like my brother, Big Mac.  All work and little talk.”

Just then, Moon Dancer finished looking over the chip.  “Twilight.  It looks like some of the pathways are scratched up, but some of the parts are still intact.  I think this can be repaired and working again.  Do you have any of the blueprints for this?”

“I have them on my laptop,” Twilight replied.  “Let me pull them up for you to look at.”

“You do that, and I’ll go back to my room and get my soldering kit and parts.”  Moon Dancer got up and made sure her glasses were back in their place before leaving the room and grabbing the supplies from her room.

“Why do I have a feeling that this is going to take some time making repairs and speaking terms that I have a hard time understanding,” Rara said.

“Perhaps we should leave them to their work,” Applejack said.  “Let’s go outside.  I could use some fresh air right about now.”

Rara agreed and went with Applejack outside of the dorm, leaving Moon Dancer, Twilight, Sunset, and Sugarcoat to their work.  When they got outside, they found a small brick wall just outside of the dorm lobby that they could sit on.  It was already night time, which gave them a chance to see the stars above.  Applejack looked up at the stars and let out a sigh.

“You still miss them, do you?” Rara asked.

Applejack let out another sigh and said, “Eeyep.”

“Must be hard working on the farm without them.”

“Well, I do have Big Mac around.  And my little sis, Apple Bloom as well, even though she can be a handful at times.  And while Granny Smith works at the school cafeteria, she tries her best to keep the business going.”  Applejack decided to change the subject.  “How did you get caught in a mess with your music career anyway?”

“You mean with my former manager, Svengallop?” Rara replied.  “I always thought he was just looking out for me and my needs at the time.  But it was when I was to perform with other artists for a charity event that the truth was revealed.  It was also the time I met Moon Dancer as well.  She was a volunteer at the event and was assigned to work with me around the area so that I was ready for my performance that night.  She was given a list of demands from Svengallop for several items that were needed.  The request was odd for her, because stuff like that was to go straight to the head of the event, not to Moon Dancer.  When I looked at the list, I started to have concern about what my manager was doing.

“So Moon Dancer had an idea that could show if he had my best interests in heart.  I called Sapphire Shores, who was the president of Sapphire Studios, and asked that she be there to see what Svengallop was doing in the first place.  The plan was for me to cancel my afternoon trip to the children hospital, which I like to do a lot at events like this.  I did so, and he agreed to it and made a request to cancel the hospital event and schedule a trip to the spa for himself.  Moon Dancer had a hidden camera on herself and showed the video to me and Sapphire.

“Seeing what was going on and finally noticing that Svengallop wasn’t following normal procedure like he should have, Sapphire decided to fire him as a manager for the company and decided to take over for the clients that he was in charge of.  That would have including me, but I requested that I take some time off from my career and return to school instead of having a private teacher working with me.  Moon Dancer recommended that I attend her school, which was a private academy in Manehattan.  Everyone there treated me like every other student that was there, and not some famous singer, which is what I wanted at that time.  Spent my junior and senior years there.

“Now, I’m working in music performance here at Equestria University.  I want to write my own music for once and be more of a singer and songwriter at the same time for Sapphire Studios.”

“And after you graduated from high school, you had to help Moon Dancer with her problem against a pharaoh,” Applejack said.

“After what she did for me, it was the best I could do for her,” Rara responded.

“Well, it’s nice to see that you’ve returned to your roots once again.”

“Thanks, AJ.”

Rara reached out and hugged Applejack, to which she returned the hug.  That was when Applejack looked up and saw Rara’s hair.

“Now what are we going to do about your hair.”

Rara looked up and wondered as well.  “I was hoping to get the color out during the summer.  But with all that has happened the past few months, I just never got a chance to have it done.”

“Well, if Rarity was able to notice who you were then I’m sure everyone else will know when they see you on campus.  And we have yet to have our student IDs worked on.”  Then Applejack had an idea.  “I know.  Let’s ask her and see if she can fix it for you.  I know she’s into fashion, but maybe she’s worked on this stuff at one time.”

So Applejack and Rara went back inside and went to the room that Rarity was in and knocked the door.  And without a doubt, it was Rarity who answered the door.

“Oh.  Hello Applejack… and Col- I mean, Rara.  Sorry.  I’m still trying to get use to who you wanted to be called in the first place.”

“It’s OK, Rarity.  Moon Dancer had to go through it as well when I attended high school with her,” Rara replied.

“Rares, you think you can get the color out of her hair?” Applejack asked.  “We’ve been hoping that she would look like her old self before she can walk around campus in public.”

Rarity placed her hand on her chin and thought for a moment.  “I don’t know.  That would be a challenge for me to do.”

“I can do it.”  They girls looked to see Sunny Flare just outside the bathroom door.  “I’ve worked with hair colors myself in the past.  On both my hair and Sour’s.  If you need to get the color out, I might have something that would work.  But we’ll have to do this in the bathroom shower.”

So Rara followed Rarity and Sunny to the bathroom to work on Rara’s hair.  But they needed something that she could lay on so that they can get the color out without getting on herself.

“I’m not sure a chair would work here,” Rarity said.

“Why not create something similar with your diamond magic?” Applejack recommended.  Rarity and Sunny showed signs of concern, but Applejack helped calm those concerns.  “Don’t worry.  She had to help Moon Dancer with that indecent that was shown in the tabloid.  She understands.”

Rarity made a quick nod and used her magic to create a flat bench made out of diamond crystals.  Sunny Flare grabbed some of her bottles to have at the ready, and Rara went to lay down and let her hair down over the shower.  Both Rarity and Sunny started to work on removing the dye in Rara’s hair.  Applejack stood next to the wall to watch, to which Sour Sweet joined her.

“So, how’s the A/C doing in your room?” Applejack asked.

“Gears said that they tried to repair the part that helps control the temperature, but when he looked at it, it needed to be replaced in the first place,” Sour explained.  “Said that it will be a few days before he can get it and make the repairs.  But he gave us a couple of box fans to help keep the room cool until then.  Not sure if I can handle the noise from those fans, compared to the A/C unit.”

“Actually, it’s just ambient sounds that you’re hearing from both sources,” Rara said while laying on the bench.

“And how would you know?” Sour asked.

“Something that my science teacher explained back in high school.  Most simple motors make an ambient sound, which can help some people sleep easier, since they can stand complete silence.”

“The only thing I like to hear when I sleep is just the owls hooting,” Applejack said.

“That’s because you live on a farm, dear,” Rarity said.  “For me, I prefer the sounds of the river, or even a waterfall.”

“The waterfall is a nice sound to sleep to,” Sunny added.  “Good thing that they have sound boxes that can recreate nature’s music.”

“Just as long as you don’t have to go to the bathroom while listening to it,” Sour said.  She then let out a sigh.

Applejack took noticed and decided to ask.  “Something wrong?”

“It’s just… when I saw Gear Works, he was a really nice person.  Rarity and Fluttershy told me about Aria and the fact that she was more of the rude one in the group, but I just couldn’t understand how Gears can put up with her.  He said that there was another side to her that he was able to bring out of her.  Not to mention that he can put up with her attitude most of the time.  I just… I wish I could find a boy like him in my life.”

“That’s because you keep scaring off every guy you try to date in the past,” Sunny explained.

“I DO NOT!!!”  Sour soon realized the outburst that she just made.  “Sorry.  That just… came out of nowhere.”

“Maybe that’s what your problem is,” Applejack said.  “You have no way to get the anger out of your system.  Is there anything that you like to do during your free time?”

Sour Sweet took a moment to think about it.  “Well, you saw what I can do in archery back during the Friendship Games.  That’s usually my way of stress relief.  I just have a hard time finding a good place to use my bow and arrows during school.  I already won the junior girls archery competition during spring break.”

“Is that so?” Applejack replied.

“Yep.  Too bad you weren’t there to compete against me,” Sour bragged on.

“That’s because I was at Camp Everfree at the time,” Applejack corrected.

“Oh.  Yea.  You had to deal with new magic at the time.  Forget I bragged about that.”

“Already forgotten.  Is there anything else that you like to do?”

Sour thought about it some more.  “I… don’t really know right now.  I guess I was just focused on finishing school and getting out of Cinch’s hair.”

“Maybe you should talk to Dr. Chrysalis,” Rarity recommended.  “She is your guidance consular, and Adagio has had sessions with her.  Maybe you should think about having a session with her.  It could be helpful down the road.”

“I’ll… think about it,” Sour replied.

Rarity then remembered something.  “Oh, by the way.  I just heard from Trixie.  She’s already checked in to her room, but hasn’t seen her roommate yet.  I’m guessing that she would be an upperclassmen.  Said that her name was Gem Stardust.”

“Hey, isn’t that the girl that you and Moon Dancer know?” Applejack asked.

“Yep.  That’s her,” Rara replied.

“You’ve been telling me that she reminds you of me.  Care to explain?” Applejack asked.

“Well, she’s more of a western girl at heart,” Rara replied.  “I met her when I was a junior when she asked for some help with her singing.  She’s trying to focus on theater just like her mother.”

“Oh.  Both Trixie and Sunny are majoring in theater as well,” Rarity replied.

“Cool.  I’m sure that Gem will get along with her.”

“That is if she can handle the way Trixie talks,” Applejack said.  “She talks in third person, and like to be dramatic in everything.  Not to mention the disappearing act that she tries to do at times.”

“Remember, she did forgive us after what happen at the battle of the bands, even if she was under the control of the sirens.  She was a bit… arrogant in what she did afterwards,” Rarity explained.

“Oh I’m sure Gem wouldn’t have any problems with her,” Rara said.  “She knows how to handle a six-shooter like her mother during her rodeo days.  Her mother also graduated from this school with the same major and became a big name stage actress in Manehattan and beyond.”

That got Sunny to thinking.  “Six-shooter?  Rodeo?  By any chance her mother’s name is Ruby Crystal Stardust?”

“That’s her.”

Sunny was shocked.  “Oh.  My.  Gosh!  She’s like the biggest wild west actress known in the world.  I think I’ve seen one of her plays that she was in.  She always preferred roles that had a strong female lead, and anything western or southern style were suited just for her.  One of the reasons I wanted to work on majoring in theater.”

“I’ve heard of the name, but never had a chance to see her perform,” Rarity said.  “I’m assuming that she still performs on stage.”

“I believe so,” Rara said.  “But I think she’s taking a break for the time being, last I heard.  You’ll have to talk to her to find out for yourself.”

Rarity and Sunny just finished working on Rara’s hair.  Rara sat back up as Rarity held up a mirror for her to look at.

“So, what do you think?”

Rara looked at her reflection and saw herself with her long dark blue hair, which was still a bit wet from the washing.

“Like my old self.  It’s been so long since I’ve seen myself like this.  Thanks to both of you, Rarity and Sunny.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, dearie,” Sunny replied.  “Now you can walk around without being mobbed by your fans that still remember who you were.”

“At least you’re ready for when we get our student IDs later on,” Applejack said.

All five of them walked out of the bathroom, only to see Fluttershy sitting on the bed next to the window talking to a blue bird.

“So, she can really talk to animals, right?” Rara asked Applejack.

“Eeyep.”

“It just amazes me that she can do that,” Rarity said.  “She was able to understand my cat better back home.”

“I have a feeling that she’s going to make a great veterinarian when she graduates,” Sunny said.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door.  Rarity went to answer it and saw Twilight and Moon Dancer at the door.

“Good.  We found you all,” Moon Dancer said.  “Sunset and Sugarcoat went to get the others.  There’s something that you girls need to see.”

As Twilight and Moon Dancer walked into the room, Sunset and the other girls arrived to see what was going on.  Sugarcoat made sure the door was close before they could talk.

“We were able to get my P.K.E. Meter working,” Twilight said as she held up her device.  “But it was during our test that we were able to discover something.  Take a look at the readings when I point it to one of the pendants.”

Twilight held the meter to Sunset’s pendant, which caused it to go off.  The other girls were looking at the screen.

“So it’s showing a wavily line.  So what?” Rainbow Dash explained.

“These were the same readings that I saw when I examined the statue before the Friendship Games.  Now take a look when I can Moon Dancer’s bracelet.”

Twilight pointed the meter to the gold bracelet, and started to emit different readings from Twilight’s point of view.

“It looks like the same readings,” Indigo said.

“No it’s not,” Pinkie quickly replied.  “There’s less waves on the screen.”

“Exactly!” Twilight responded.  “The readings are different from Equestrian magic.”

Rainbow Dash had a confused look on her face.  “I don’t get it.”

Moon Dancer explained.  “What she means is that various forces emit different patterns.  Whether it’s a spirit or demon, dark magic or holy magic, each force contains different kinds of energy.”

“So now we can detect if we come across Equestrian magic or not,” Twilight said.

“Does it even matter what kind of magic we come across around here?” Sour asked.

“Remember what Adagio said earlier.  There might be some threats that Equestrian magic wouldn’t work on.  What Moon Dancer experience would be one of those reasons,” Sunset explained.

The girls then heard the blue bird chirping from Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Really?  Are you sure?” Fluttershy replied, to which the bird chirped back.

Sunset asked Fluttershy, “What’s it saying?”

“He says that some of the animals nearby have come across some strange light in the past, like some kind of tear in space.  Then monsters appear from those tears.”

“Monsters?  Like timber wolves or something?” Sunset asked.

Twilight looked at Sunset and asked, “What’s a timber wolf?”

“It’s like a big wolf, but made from logs.  They only exist in the Everfree Forest back in my world.”

The bird chirped again, to which Fluttershy said, “No.  They were more like skeletons and ghosts.”

“Dude, maybe it’s a necrodancer,” Lemon said.

“You mean necromancer, Lemon,” Sugarcoat corrected.

“Whatever.”

Sunset pondered for a moment.  “That doesn’t sound like something from Equestria.”

“Then these tears may not be like the ones that I… well Midnight Sparkle, created back then, right?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t think so,” Sunset replied.  “From the sound of it, these must have been created from the source that these creatures also came from.  The only kinds of spirits that I know of are the Windigos.  And that was ages ago back in Equestria.  And if it was nearby, then Adagio of her sisters would have sensed it.  That could only mean that this force isn’t from Equestria.”

“Then how come there hasn’t been any reports about this anywhere,” Rainbow Dash asked.

The bird chirped in response.  “He says that there were men in golden armor who appear to take out the creatures, then seal up the tear with some power that comes from their hands.  Once the tear is gone, they disappear.”

“I hope this isn’t some new magic that we have to face again,” Applejack said.

“I’m not sure,” Sunset replied.  “I think it’s best that we don’t worry about this for now.  If someone else is handling this problem, and no one is harmed in the process, then it might be best to stay out of their way for now.  We may not be able to solve this with our magic alone.”

“I would have to agree,” Moon Dancer said.  “We made sure no one else got in our way when handling the pharaoh back then after we found out how to deal with him.  It might be best to stay out of the way of these guys as well.  If the threat is worse and we come across it, then we would have to intervene.”

“Might be best to keep an open mind about what we just learned about and be alert of anything out of the ordinary,” Sunset recommended.  “If there are other forces out there, then maybe knowledge will help us out in stopping it.”

Everyone came to agreement with this and decided to return to their rooms and call it a night.
> Ch. 5 - Cafeteria Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first day of freshman orientation was in full swing, and the students were in the auditorium for the basic meeting with the RA staff before going to their assigned guidance counselor.  And while Sunset Shimmer’s guidance counselor was Mr. Discord, he was busy with other business and requested that she meet with Dr. Chrysalis for the time being.  So she was with Sour Sweet during that time.  When lunch time came around, both of them started to walk towards the cafeteria to join their friends, and started talking about Dr. Chrysalis.

“I can understand why she’s an expert on multiple personalities, but those bug like contacts just give me the creeps,” Sour explained.

“You and me both,” Sunset added.  “But she’s not like the one from my world that I was told about.”

“You wrote to… the princess of friendship earlier?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Sunset corrected, to which Sour Sweet nodded.  “Don’t worry.  I’m sure you and the others can tell the difference between human Twilight and pony princess Twilight soon enough.  But yes, I did.  She told me the… short version about her encounter with Queen Chrysalis.”

Sour Sweet was a bit surprised.  “Queen?”

“Yea, I know.  It’s strange, but she was the queen of the changelings in my world.  And just so you know, they were bug-like ponies that can disguise themselves into any pony and absorb their love energy to stay alive.”

“I guess that could explain the bug eyes that she likes to show off,” Sour said.

“So back then, Princess Twilight was just a student like myself.  She received an invitation from her brother, Shining Armor, obviously, to be married to her foal-sitter, Princess Cadence.  That’s like a babysitter in this world, just so you know.  But when she arrived, she noticed that Cadence wasn’t like the pony that she once knew.  She soon discovered that this Cadence was controlling her brother and taking his energy.  Problem was that no one believed her.  To make matters worse, she was banished to some cave where the real Cadence was being held by the one that she just met.  Turns out that the one that she met was Queen Chrysalis in disguise.  Long story short, it was the true love of the real Princess Cadence and Shining Armor that helped blow away the queen and her army from the kingdom.”

Sour Sweet was able to understand what was told.  “Well, that can explain why Dean Cadence is always close to Twilight back at Crystal Prep.  I’m assuming that the two finally got married, right?”

“That was the plan, and Chrysalis learned about this to use to her advantage,” Sunset explained.

“I hope that Dean Cadence gets married to Shining Armor soon.  I heard that he was a skilled athlete during his time in high school.”

“Actually, they just got engaged over the summer.  Saw the ring and everything.”

Sour Sweet’s eyes went wide open.  “Really?”  She started to squeal.  “Whatever you do, don’t say anything about it right now.”

“Why?”

“Indigo Zap made a bet that he would propose to her over the summer, and Sunny Flare agreed to the bet, thinking that it wouldn’t happen because of the new role that Cadence would have to take.  I just want to see the face of her for once when she learned that she lost the bet.”

Sunset let out a giggle.  “I see what you mean.”

“So, whatever happen to the changeling queen in your world?”

Sunset explained.  “I asked her that, and she said that a lot has changed in the changeling empire, thanks to her new student of friendship and a few other friends while she and her friends were captured and replaced with changelings that looked like her and her friends.  One of them was a changeling that wanted to be reformed, and it turns out that when changelings share their love energy, they evolve into a good changeling.”

“Just like a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, right?”

“So I’ve been told,” Sunset replied.  “But the queen left, not accepting their offer of friendship.  No one knows where she is right now.   But a majority of her army now follow their new good king.  It’s strange how friendship can bring ponies, or people, together.”

“Wish we knew that back at Crystal Prep,” Sour said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Sunset saw this and placed her arm around Sour’s shoulder.  “Look, it was Cinch who didn’t understand what she was doing, and it cost Cinch her job.  No need for you or your classmates to blame your own selves for what happened.  Now come on.  Let’s go get something to eat.”

Sour Sweet agreed and both of them continue their walk to the cafeteria.  They were then joined by Twilight, Moon Dancer, Applejack, and Sugarcoat along the way.

“Hey girls, how was you day so far?” Applejack asked.

“Just fine,” Sunset replied.

“Yea.  I was learning a bit about the difference between Dr. Chrysalis and the pony version in her world,” Sour added.

“I’ve always wondered about the similarities and differences between both worlds,” Sugarcoat said.  “Applejack said that you have holidays similar to our world.”

“I told her about Hearth’s Warming that you have in your world and how it’s similar to Christmas,” Applejack said.

“Yea.  And during that time, your sister and her friends tried to ruin my new life since we defeated the sirens back then,” Sunset said.

“And all because they were jealous because we spent time with you instead of them,” Applejack added.  “They had to learn the mistakes they made after causing more damage to our school.  Lesson learned, I say.”

“How did they cause damage to the school without magic like the rest?” Moon Dancer asked.

“They were spreading personal secrets under the name of Anon-A-Miss,” Sunset explained.  “I had to be reminded by the princess about the Windigo back in my world, which were nothing like the sirens.” 

“Speaking of sirens, what about this one girl that we heard was working in the cafeteria?” Twilight asked.

“You mean Sonata?” Sunset clarified.  “I believe she was more of the innocent one who got caught up in this siren mess.  She’s not too bright like her sisters, but I think she could have done better with her life.  Maybe the job she has here might have done her some good.”

All six of them arrived at the cafeteria and went inside.  They saw most of their friends sitting together, including Flash and Trixie.  But there was no sign of Rarity or Fluttershy with them.  The six waved and pointed that they were going to get their food before joining the others.  So they went to the serving room and grabbed their trays and went up to the first area of food on displayed.  And the one serving this food was none other than Sonata herself.  She look up and recognized two of them.

“Sunset!  Applejack!  It’s nice to see you again.  And on better terms, right?”

“Looks that way,” Applejack replied.

Sonata looked at Twilight for a moment, then said, “She does looked like the princess herself… expect for the glasses.  That’s new.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head.  “Somehow, I get that a lot back in CHS.”

“Hey, I don’t mean to be rude, but are you going to serve us of what?” Sour said, trying to keep her cool.

“Oh!  Right.  Well, what do you-”  She stopped for a moment and remembered something.  “Sunset, you eat meat, right?”

“Oh yea.  I do.  Gotten used to it since I’ve been in this world.”

“Good.  Well then, what do you want to eat?  We have hamburgers, hot dogs, boneless chicken, pizza.  We also have fries, green beans, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese.  And if you want a salad, you can fix it yourself over there.”  Sonata pointed to the serving area with all the leafy greens behind them.

Each of the girls made their orders and got their food before waving back at Sonata and leaving the area.  They went to get their drinks and joined the others.  Sunset was able to sit across Flash, while Applejack was across from Rara.  Twilight and Moon Dancer sat next to each other, while Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat decided to sit next to they CPA friends.

“So, Rarity and Fluttershy haven’t gotten here yet?” Applejack asked.

“Nope.  They might have been held up with their guidance councilors,” Rainbow Dash explained.

Sunset noticed that Flash was sitting next to Rara and decided to test him.  “So Flash.  I’m sure that you met Applejack’s old friend, Rara.”

“Yep.  She’s got a good voice, that’s for sure,” Flash replied.

“And she’s told Trixie more about Gem Stardust.  Trixie is glad that Sunny Flare and Rarity gave Trixie a head’s up about her.”

“Then you met Sunny Flare in your group, right?” Sour asked.

“We have,” Sunny Flare replied.  “And she can definitely play a noble woman’s role very easily.  Not even I can pull off that style so well.”

“Why thank you, Sunny,” Trixie replied.  “And you have more talent in a drama setting from what we saw today.”

“Nice to see that you two are getting along well,” Applejack said.

“Getting back on topic, what do you think about Rara anyway?” Sunset asked Flash.

Flash was getting a weird vibe when Sunset starred at him.  “Rara?  Well… she’s nice.  Talented.  I don’t know what else to say about her so far.”

“Dude, you two were chatting up a storm when I came up to you on our way here,” Lemon Zest explained, making Flash feel nervous.

Sunset glared at Flash, saying, “Really?”

“Well, we was just… talking about how she’s friends with Applejack, even if they live in different cities.”

Applejack decided to join in on the conversation.  “Is that all?  She never mention what she did before coming here?”

“Nope.  Why?”

Sunset and Applejack giggled.

“I guess the old look did the trick,” Applejack said.

“Yea.  No more Coloratura, that’s for sure,” Sunset added.

Flash was confused to what was going on.  “Care to fill me in on what you’re talking about?”

Applejack decided to explain.  “Flash, that girl next to you is The Countess Coloratura.”

“The… Countess?” Flash said.  “Where have I heard that name before?”

Sunset and Applejack were stunned at Flash’s reaction.  Lemon Zest saw this and decided to clarify.

“Dude.  Flash is just like me.  More rock, less pop.  I doubt he’s heard much about her like you do.”

“Wait, you mean the teenage pop star?” Flash said, looking at Rara.  “She doesn’t look like it.”

“Because we decided to remove the colored dye in her hair last night,” Sunny Flare explained.

“And to think that you would be interested in her in the first place,” Sunset said.

“Seriously?” Flash responded.  “I don’t know if I’m ready for relationships after giving up on Twilight.  I mean the Twilight from the other world, that is.”

“I figure that you two would be back together again back at Camp Everfree,” Applejack said.

“I think Sunset was distracted with our new magic problem after seeing what just happened there,” Flash said.  “Besides, I’m not sure I’m ready to enter the dating scene anyway.”

“And yet, you’re surrounded but young ladies right now,” Sugarcoat said matter of fact.

“Just leave him be,” Rainbow Dash said.  “Besides, a lot of our friends went their separate ways, so we’re the only friends that Flash has at the moment.”

“That’s true,” Applejack said.

As they started eating their food, Pinkie Pie notice their last two friends enter the building.  “Oh, oh.  There’s Rarity and Fluttershy now.”

The others looked at then and noticed two girls with them.  The one next to Fluttershy had white skin and long blue hair, and was wearing a blue shirt, skirt, and heels.  But the other girl look familiar.  She had white skin and long pink hair, and was wearing a pink summer dress.  Twilight was the first to respond.

“Isn’t that…”

“I think it is,” Sunny Flare said.  “But why is she here?  I thought she returned to France?”

“Was she an exchange student at CPA?” Sunset asked.

“Both her and Royal Pin,” Sunny Flare replied.  “Most of the ones that graduated with us also went their separate ways.”

“So who is she?” Rara asked.

“Fleur dis Lis,” Twilight responded.  “But she was a bit rude around me before the games.”

“Let’s wait until she and the others join us,” Sunset said.  “Then maybe we can get an explanation from her.”

It wasn’t long before the four girls joined the others.  Rarity and Fleur sat on one side, while Fluttershy and the new girl took the other side.

“Sorry for the wait ladies,” Rarity said, then noticed Flash being the only guy in the group.  “And Flash.  We were held up with a few things at Fleur’s dorm room.”

“I hope you don’t mind Daisy joining us,” Fluttershy said, talking about the new girl in the group.  “Both of us are working on the same major, and I just found out that she’s Fleur’s roommate.  Daisy, these are our friends.  Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Sunset Shimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, and Flash Sentry.”

“And that’s Applejack’s long time friend, Rara, and Twilight’s long time friend, Moon Dancer,” Rarity added.  “Everyone, this is Daisy Breeze”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Daisy said.  “And the others?”

“They’re… classmates of mine,” Fleur said.  “That’s Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare.”

Daisy sensed a hint of sadness in her voice.  “You don’t seem pleased to see them.”

Fleur reacted to this.  “Oh no.  It’s not that.  It’s just that… well…”

“It’s because our school has been through a lot of problems after have the Friendship Games between our school and their school to which our principal made things stricter for the school and came close to expelling us which lead to her resigning after meeting the old principal about the issue,” Sugarcoat said  matter of fact.

Fleur was surprised at the one detail that Sugarcoat just said.  “Wait, you mean you were about to be expelled?”

“Yea.  But we’re lucky that Sugarcoat heard about and reported it to Dean Cadence,” Sour Sweet said.  “The rest is history.  We’re just trying to move on, that’s all.”

“I know how you feel,” Fleur said.

“What do you mean by that, dearie?” Sunny Flare asked.

“Well… after returning to France, I started to ask myself what I learned about my experience over here and decided to e-mail Royal Pin about it as well.  He started to feel the same thing that he didn’t learn what he wanted to and has been trying to move on as well.”

“Is he here as well?” Indigo Zap asked.

“Oh no.  He’s staying in the UK and is attending a college that his parents graduated from,” Fleur said.  “It’s just… having a fashion model for a mother and a business tycoon for a father just made me feel like… I wasn’t ready to return home in the first place.  So my father was able to get me admittance to this place.  Now I’m trying to find what I should have learned when I was here in the first place.”

“Welcome to the club,” Sour Sweet said.

“Is there anyone else from Crystal Prep attending here?” Fleur asked.

“Not really,” Sunny Flare replied.  “Jet Set is working at his father’s business so that he can take over in the years to come.  And Upper Crust decided to stay by his side.  You know how close those two are.  Plus, Tenderhoof decided to start traveling the world and talk about his experiences at each place for his website.  He’s been saving up for all that.”

“And Suri Polomare went to Manehattan for fashion school there,” Sour Sweet said.

“Neon Lights told me that he got a new job as a DJ somewhere.  Can’t remember the place for all I know,” Lemon Zest said.

“That’s all that we know.  Everyone else that we know just went their separate ways,” Sunny Flare said.  “Speaking of which, where are some of your friends from CHS.  You already told us that Lyra and Bonbon stayed in Canterlot.  What about the others that we saw there?”

Sunset decided to go first.  “Well, Micro Chips, the guy with the glasses from the games, went to a technical college so that he can study to be an IT guy later on, just like his father.”

“You taken a couple of math classes with him, right?” Applejack asked, to which Sunset nodded.

Fluttershy went next.  “Well, um, Sandalwood went on his missionary trip overseas with some others to help out those in need.”

“That’s a tough job to do,” Moon Dancer said.  “Does he have survival skills?”

“He does.  That’s why he took this trip,” Fluttershy replied.  “He won’t have much contact with the rest of the world.  But he does plan to write to Principal Celestia in the mail, then send me an e-mail of his letters.  She wanted to keep up with the work overseas so that it can be helpful at the school.”

Now it was Rarity’s turn.  “Well, I just got a letter from Octavia Melody that she finally got a seat in the Manehattan Symphony.  Third chair cello.”

“Wow!” Sunny Flare replied.  “I’ve seen them perform when I was younger over there, and they have been the best.  She must have some connections over there to make it in.”

“Well, her parents were both in the symphony when they met,” Rarity explained.  “I believed that her father was either first or second trumpet and her mother was first violin.  I remember seeing the pictures when I took Sweetie Belle for singing practice.  Tavi’s mother has some vocal experience as well.”

“Didn’t Photo Finish also moved to Manehattan?” Sunset asked Rarity.

“You might be right, dear.  They have the best photography school out there.  I think Tavi and Photo are living in the same apartment to cut down on rent.

“What about that one girl with the crossed eyes?” Fleur asked.

“You mean Derpy?” Rainbow Dash replied.  “She also stayed in Canterlot and started to work with his father in the postal service.  Plus, she also got engaged.”

About everyone’s eyes went wide open, and it was Applejack who decided to respond.

“Is it that exchange student from the UK that was at CHS for our senior year, Time Tuner?”

“Yep,” Rainbow Dash responded.  “He decided to stay in Canterlot so that they can start a family of their own.”

“I always thought they were a nice couple.  But never think he would stay here to make sure that it worked in the long run,” Applejack said.

“I think Jet Set was thinking of doing the same with Upper Crust, but decided to wait until they both knew what their future would be later on,” Sugarcoat said.  “I asked him to e-mail us if and when he does so.”

“Now, if only Shining Armor can do the same with Dean Cadence, that would be great,” Indigo Zap said.

Sunset looked back at Sour Sweet and knew what was coming next.  So Sour Sweet got her phone out and had it ready for the reaction.

“Dearie, Cadence is going to be busy trying to fix the school after what Cinch did in the past,” Sunny Flare responded.  “I doubt that he wants to get in her way, right Twilight?”

“Actually, he just did weeks ago,” Twilight replied, causing Sunny Flare’s jaw to drop.  Sour Sweet took a picture of it, just to capture the moment.

“He did?”  Indigo asked, to which Twilight nodded.  “Sunny?  Time to pay up girl.”

Sunny Flare snapped out of her shock and knew that she had to keep up with their bet.  So she got up and walked to Indigo and pulled out a fifty dollar bill and slapped it on Indigo’s hand.  When she started to walk back to her seat, she saw the picture that Sour Sweet took of her before.

“Sour, you better damn well not post this online,” Sunny Flare replied.

“Too late,” Sour Sweet replied, followed by a grin.

“Sour, you were just waiting for this moment, right?” Sunny replied, to which Sour stick out her tongue as her response.  Sunny Flare went back to her seat in disgust.

“By the way.  Does anyone know what Bulk Biceps is doing?  I haven’t seen him since we graduated,” Sunset asked.

Flash was able to respond to that question.  “Oh that’s right.  He decided to stay with his family and help them out.  He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for college, so he’s waiting until later on before he can attend.”

“Can he play sports, like football?” Daisy asked.

“I think so, why?”

“My cousin, Blaze Lionheart, also attends this school and just became the starting quarterback for the football team.  I’m sure your friend could have gotten on the team as well.  And maybe in a year, he would know what major he would like to take.  Our friend, Centaur, was undecided when he came here, and now he’s majoring in astronomy.”

“Did you say that his name was Centaur?  As in Centaur Archer?” Flash asked.

“Yes.  Do you have him as your roommate?” Daisy responded.

“Yea.  I was hoping to know more about him,” Flash said.

“Well, you might want to also know my cousin and his roommate, because they have the room next to yours.  All of us come from Baltimare and attended the same school.  Centaur’s a sophomore and Blaze and his roommate, Steel Horn, are juniors.  All of them are good guys to hang with.”

“So, what can you tell us about them?” Flash asked Daisy.

“Well, my cousin, Blaze, just became the starting quarterback for the football team, and he’s really nice to everyone.  He always keeps an open mind about those around him and is quick on his feet.  Steel is a bit more active than Blaze, but is always alert when trouble is coming.  So if you ever want to go somewhere safely, then it’s best to have him around.  As for Centaur, he’s easy going, but has had a hard time this past year, since he was born with a learning disability.”

“You mean that he has a hard time learning?” Sunset asked.

“Depends on the subject,” Daisy replied.  “He’s good at most math classes back in high school and computer classes, but has a hard time with classes like literature, science, and history.”

“So remembering words and meanings are a problem for him?” Applejack asked.

“Yea.  I’m hoping that I can be of some help to him this time, since I’m now here.  But a friend of ours, Gem Stardust and Silver Justice, have been by their side through all of it.”

“Hey, Gem’s my roommate?” Trixie said.

“And she’s also our friend,” Rara said, pointing to herself and Moon Dancer.

“Really?” Daisy replied.  “Then you must also know Sea Spray and Crab Hammer, right?”

Rara and Moon Dancer nodded.

“Good.  And you shouldn’t have any problem with her as your roommate.  She’s tough, but very helpful.”

“We heard that she’s more of a country girl, right?” Applejack asked.

“She is,” Daisy replied.  “In fact, she has that same accent that you have,” as she pointed to Applejack.

“Now I really want to meet her when she gets here,” Applejack responded.

Sugarcoat decided to speak.  “Forgive me for asking this, but the other lady you said was Silver Justice.  Is she related to the Justice and Justice Law Firm?”

“In Fillydelphia?  Yea.  Those are her parents,” Daisy replied.

“I heard that they won a lot of cases for those who needed the help,” Sugarcoat said.  “And they also donate to several charities at times.”

“And they hope that Silver can do the same when she graduates,” Daisy added.  “She’s nice, but don’t get on her bad side.  She can be very protective of herself, or her friends.  I remember meeting her and the others over spring break.”

“Maybe we can find some guy friends for Flash, since he feels out of place with us,” Sunset said.

“Oh there are a few others that we know, but you might have to wait until they get here,” Daisy said.  “I really can’t go into detail with them at this time.”

“As long as they are good guys, I’m fine with that,” Flash said.

But before they can continue, a blue haired girl came running up to them from the serving room.

“Hi ya everyone.”

Pinkie was the first one to respond.  “Hi ya, Sonata.  Taking a break?”

“For the moment.  Just wanted to see how you all are doing.”

“Oh, we’re just doing fine, dear,” Rarity replied.  “But I’m just curious.  How were you able to work with the cafeteria staff?”

“Oh that’s easy.  I always do the cooking with my sisters when we’re hungry,” Sonata explained.  “I mean we have to eat anyway.  By the way, where’s that one girl that was with you before.  You know, the one with the blue hair and shades.”

Pinkie said, “You mean Vinyl Scratch?  She now has a job as a DJ at some place called Rocket City.”

That was when a light bulb went off in Lemon Zest’s head.  “That’s the place.  Rocket City.  Neon Lights has a DJ job there as well.”

Sonata responded when she heard the place.  “Rocket City!?  I know where that is.  It’s just a ten minute drive from here.  I like to go there to loosen up on the weekends.  Never could get my sisters to come and enjoy the music from there.  I’m guess they’re still reeling from our past mistakes.”

Sunset motioned her finger, wanting Sonata to come over.  When she did, Sunset whispered into her ear, “We might want to hold off the magic stories for now, since we have guest around here.”

Sonata look to who she was talking about and recognized the girl in question.  “Oh.  Hi Daisy.  I see that you met some of my old friends.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Sonata,” Daisy replied.  “How are your sisters doing?”

“We’re getting by.”

Sunset looked at each other with a confused look on her face.  “Wait.  You know each other?”

“Dud.  She’s Blaze’s cousin, who else,” Sonata responded.  “By the way.  Congrats on him becoming the new starting QB for the team.  This season’s going to be something.”

“Thanks,” Daisy replied.  “And if you don’t mind me asking, but has Adagio heard from Silver as of late?”

“Not really.  And Aria didn’t see her name on the dorm list, so she must have a place to live off campus.  But don’t worry.  I’ll make sure you and the others know when we hear from her.  I’m sure that she would need help moving in.  I’m guessing that Centaur is feeling better, right?”

Daisy let out a sigh after hearing Sonata’s question.  “Not really.  He’s still reeling from what happened last semester.  Archery has been the only support he has to get the stress out.”

“Aria’s not going to be pleased about that,” Sonata replied.

Sunset was curious to what the two girls were talking about.  “What’s wrong with Centaur?  Does it have to deal with his learning disability?”

“No.  He went into a state of severe depression last semester,” Daisy said.  “My cousin caught on and told Aria about it.  So they took him to see Dr. Chrysalis for therapy.  What’s troubling me is that he was never like this back in high school.”

“That’s because two girls messed with him in the wrong way,” Sonata added.  “As Aria would say it, they’re the worst.”

“Oh dear.  What happen?” Rarity asked.

“I can’t remember the details,” Sonata replied.  “You might have to ask Aria for the story.  She had to deal with the issue big time.  You know, since she’s in charge of the resident dorms and all.”

“Sonata!  We need you back here again!”

Sonata looked back and yelled, “Coming Saffron!”  She looks back to the group and said, “That’s Saffron Masala.  Both her and her father run the cafeteria.  And her exotic dishes are to die for.”  Sonata then ran off, but then returned and said, “Well, I don’t mean that you would die from them, but… you get the picture.”  And she ran off again.

“That’s Sonata for ya,” Applejack said.

“I was just wondering, but what Centaur went through earlier.  Did Gem also had a part in this?” Rara asked Daisy.

“Well, both her and Silver went with Aria to deal with the problem from what I was told,” Daisy responded.

“Is that why Gem is so protective of him?” Applejack asked.

“Like a sister is to her brother,” Daisy explained.  “She started to look out for him until school was out and he was back home.  Since I learned about this while on spring break, I wanted to look out for he as well.  He’s been picked on when he was younger, but when high school came around, Blaze and Steel stood by his side against any bullies that bother him.  I did the same when I started high school as well.  Now Gem does the same after what happened.  But like Sonata said, you might want to ask Aria for the entire story.”

“We might just do that,” Sunset said.  “Want to make sure Flash start things off on the right foot with Centaur.”

“What about his left foot?” Pinkie said.  “Doesn’t he have one to use?”

All the girls groaned at Pinkie’s so-called joke.

“You also said that he had therapy with Dr. Chrysalis because of his depression,” Sour Sweet said.  “I have her as my guidance counselor, but I also have this kind of bipolar disorder that I’m not sure about.  For some reason, I tend to have my… outburst at times.  My parents wouldn’t let me see a therapist about it, thinking that it was just a phase.  But Sunny took me to the school nurse at our middle school when I started having them.”

“Yea.  The only thing that I was told was to watch out for her and make sure she didn’t do anything stupid to hurt herself,” Sunny Flare explained.  “When we were finished with high school, and after all that went on, we were able to finally see one, thanks to Dean Cadence.  It lead to more questions about her bipolar disorder, and they got her started on some platinum pills to help her.  It’s also possible that she might have go through some depression during that time.”

“So I guess I can understand what he’s going through as well,” Sour Sweet added.  “I even used archery as well to get my mind off things.”

“Is that why you’re so good at archery?” Applejack asked.

“I am,” Sour proudly replied.

“Even if you shot three arrows at the same time so you can hit the target?” Applejack added.

“Well, I don’t have to take my time to hit the target like you did back at the games,” Sour added.

“Are you both good at archery?” Daisy asked.

Both of them replied, “YES!”

“Well, he could use someone to challenge him in the sport,” Daisy said.  “No one that me, or my cousin, knows of anyone who is willing to shoot with him.  And I believe that is was Aria who got him set up with some targets on campus for him to use.  Maybe it might get his mind off of things.”

“Well, I don’t think Sour Sweet is the only one who’s gone through depression,” Rara said, looking at Applejack.

“That’s right.  You went through that phase when you lost your parents,” Rarity explained.

“Yea,” Applejack replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Sour Sweet said, “Oh.  I… never knew about that.”

“That’s OK.  You attended different schools than me,” Applejack explained.  “You never would have known.”

“Maybe it might help in how he got to that state in the first place before we meet him in person,” Sunset said.  “This is Flash’s roommate we’re talking about.”

“Well, she does work at the coffee shop in the evenings.  Maybe you should talk to her there,” Indigo recommended.

“You might have a point there,” Sunset said.  “Would be easier to find her there than look for her around campus.”

“I can tell Sonata to give Aria a heads up on the topic so that she’s ready when you see her again,” Daisy recommend.

“Thanks Daisy.  I’m sure this can be helpful with my major in psychology,” Sunset said.  “Plus, I have this… gift of understanding others when they have problems.”

“That’s right.  She was able to help me out when I moved from Crystal Prep to Canterlot High after what I went through at that old school,” Twilight explained.

Daisy smiled and said, “For once, it would be nice to see him smile again.”
> Ch. 6 - A Troubled Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few days of freshman orientation, all the students were glad that it was over and can enjoy a few days of rest before classes start.  It would also be during that time that the upperclassmen would start to check in to their dorm rooms.  But for Sunset and a few of her friends, it would be something else.

Night had fallen on the last day of orientation, and the cafe lounge was open and serving free coffee to all the freshman students that came.  Sunset Shimmer, Flash Sentry, Applejack, Rara, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare decided to go together to check the place out.  It wasn’t as big as the cafeteria, or even the food court.  But it had enough room for students who wanted to hang out a relax with their friends.  It almost reminded a few of them of the Sweet Shoppe that they liked to hang out from time to time.

While the group looked around for a place to sit, they saw at the counter Aria waving at them with the stools vacant except for one.  Sitting at that one stool was a face that Sunset recognized back at CHS after the Battle of the Bands.

“Is that Gear Works over there?” Applejack asked.

“Yep.  That’s him,” Sunset replied.  “He still looks the same since I met him years ago.”

“He must have finished work for the day,” Sunny Flare said.  “I hope he has an update on the A/C part he was waiting on.”

The group made their way to the counter to join up with Aria and Gears.  As most of the group took a seat on the stools, is was Sunset who approached Gears personally.

“Sunset Shimmer.  It’s been quite some time.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Gears.”  Sunset embraced him in a quick hug before taking her seat next to him.

“So, how’s everything been since our last meeting?  Looking better I presume?” Gears asked.

“In a way,” Sunset replied.  “I have been dealing with a new set of problems, but it’s nothing that we couldn’t handle.”

“So I’ve been told,” Gears replied.

Aria came up with some coffee cups along with milk and sugar for them and pour some coffee into them.  “You’re just in time.  Already got myself a fresh batch made up.  I’ll leave it to you on how much milk and sugar you want to add to it.”

As they were fixing their coffee to how they wanted it, Gears turned his attention to Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare.  “Got some good news.  The part just came in today.  I can start fixing the A/C unit tomorrow if you like.”

“That would be great,” Sour Sweet replied.  “As long as we don’t have to use the box fans again.”

Sunny Flare glared at her friend.  “Sour.  Shut up and drink your coffee.”

“So, Daisy tells me that you wanted to know more about Centaur, right?” Aria asked.

“Well, we were wondering as to what got him into a state of depression,” Sunset explained.  “I mean, this is Flash’s roommate we’re talking about.”

“I can understand what you mean,” Aria said.  “But first, there’s someone that I think you should meet.”

Aria nodded to the entrance.  The group looked over to see Adagio at the entrance, who was wearing a purple shirt and blue jeans and purple heals.  She was with another lady that almost looked like her.  She had pale yellow skin and orange locks, and was wearing a white blouse, blue jeans, and black boots, along with a denim jacket.  The group was wondering who it was, but Rara was the first one to recognize the lady.

“That’s the lady who helped Moon Dancer remove the curse from the bracelet,” Rara said.

“I wonder if that’s River Song that Adagio was talking about,” Applejack said.

The two ladies went up to join the others at the counter, to which Gears was the first to greet them.

“Hello, Adagio.  River Song.  Already done for the day?”

“You have no idea,” Adagio replied.  “Sunset, this is Professor River Song, the lady that I was telling you about before.”

“Is a pleasure to meet you,” River Song said.  “Adagio has told me much about your encounter with her.”

“Then you understand what we now carry with us, right?” Sunset replied.

“Yes I do, sweetie.  And I hope we can keep it out of the spotlight from the rest of the world,” River Song explained.

Aria came up with a couple of cups and pour some coffee in them.  “Just so you know, the guy next to her is Flash Sentry, Centaur’s roommate.  Next to him is Applejack, Rara, Sunny Flare, and Sour Sweet.”

When River Song heard each name, she was able to recognize one of them.  “Rara?  Is that you?  You changed your hair.”

“I know Miss River Song.  That was something that was long overdue,” Rara said.

“How is Moon Dancer, by the way?”

“She’s doing fine, miss.  And she still has the bracelet with her.”

“That’s good.”

“Sunset, were you able to look into the bracelet?” Adagio asked.

“Yes.  And so far, it’s not Equestrian magic.  But it was emitting a strange amount of energy from it.  Twilight is still looking into it.”

“Well, that’s one less problem for us to worry about,” Adagio said.  “If it’s not Equestrian, then it’s something that we have no control of.”

“She’s right,” River Song added.  “I’m still new to this… Equestrian magic I keep hearing about.  But if it’s something from another world, then it’s something that I plan to look into.  But enough about that.  How do you feel with freshman orientation being over?”

“Better, that’s for sure,” Applejack replied.

“They wanted to know more about your pupil, Centaur.  So I decided to wait until you arrived to help explain,” Aria said.

“We heard that he has severe depression.  And we wanted to make sure everything works out between him and Flash,” Sunset explained.

“Both Sunset Shimmer and Sour Sweet are majoring in psychology,” Adagio explained.

“I see,” River Song replied.  “Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about that.  Blaze and Steel have that part covered.  Plus, Gem and Silver do their best to make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Speaking of which, Daisy just heard from her cousin, Blaze, that Silver should be around tomorrow,” Aria explained to Adagio.  “She’ll know more about the place when the others get here.”

“Nice.”  Adagio turned her attention to the others.  “Me and Silver have become jogging buddies since I got here.  She’s been a real help for me.”

“Well, whatever you do, don’t jog with Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said.

“Or Indigo Zap,” Sunny Flare added.  “It will be too slow for them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Going back to Centaur.  How did he get into that state?” Sunset asked.

“You want to know?  Two bitches, that’s for sure,” Aria replied.

River Song decided to explain.  “Two of the girls on campus decided to do some… silly bet.”

“A virgin bet, to be exact,” Aria clarified.

“Anyway, Centaur started college with an undecided major.  And Mr. Discord requested me to be his guidance counselor for the time being, since he was working on his core classes.  He had a room on campus by himself, since his roommate didn’t show up.”

“He actually withdraw his application to the school at the last minute,” Adagio clarified.  “But I was able to put him in next to Blaze and Steel’s room, since they attended the same high school.  Surprised to find out that they knew each other from there.  I figure that it would make things easier for him.  But somehow, that wasn’t the case.”

River Song continued.  “He was able to make some friends at the time, but two of them had a different idea.  Never had a girlfriend in his life, had the room to himself, and shared different classes with the girls.  I just had this gut feeling that something wasn’t right.  And Aria also had the same feeling.”

“Yea.  I knew that they were helping each other with their own classes,” Aria explained.  “Centaur had a hard time with his literature and biology classes, but was good in his trigonometry class.  He helped them, and they helped him.  But I knew that both girls were roommates in another dorm.  I just knew something wasn’t right.”

River Song went on.  “Before the semester ended, he was still undecided on his major.  So I recommended that he major in astronomy, maybe learn more about the stars and space.  I told him that I would help him out if he had a problems with his classes.  Even Dr. Zecora, who works for Disability Services, was willing to help him out with tutoring sessions.  Plus, I have been working on an astronomy major program that Mr. Discord approved, but no one wasn’t willing to explore the opinion.  And I was just one of the guidance counselors for the history program.

“One of the things he liked to do at times was take walks at night around the campus grounds, enjoying what was around him.  And that included the night sky.  So he selected that as his major, and planned to start his first class for his major this year.  But when the spring semester started, things were still the same for him.  I think Aria would know what happened next.”

“Oh do I ever.”  Aria explained.  “Blaze and Steel decided to take him to a party just outside of campus.  They figured that he needed to loosen up, tried to help make more friends.  But at that party was those two same girls.  And somehow they were drinking… underage drinking.  Somehow, they were not in their frame of mind.  One of the girls was hanging with him.  But the other saw this and tried to do the same.  This led them to start a fight between both of them.  To most of the guys at the party, it was like a cat fight.  Centaur tried to stop, but there was too many people around to stop them.

“Steel, who’s always careful when trouble comes around, decided to take Centaur away from the party with Blaze.  I saw them as they were returning to the dorms and asked how the party was, and they told me what transpired.  That’s when I later heard that the police came to the house to break up the party.  Both girls were arrested for underage drinking, along with a few others.  They were released the next day.

“I decided to confront the two and asked why they were there drinking and fighting, and they said that it was some misunderstanding between each other because they have become close friends with him.  Somehow, I wasn’t buying it.  So I confronted Centaur and asked if he ever had any feeling for either of them, and somehow the thought of that never crossed his mind.  I decided to ask Adagio’s friend, Silver, for her help.  We looked into it and saw that they were getting too close to comfort with him.

“And then I found out why they were doing this.  Their neighbor next door overheard them auguring about how one was trying to interfere in taking the boys’ virginity.  When I was told about this, I told Silver and decided that we should confront them both.  But we weren’t the only ones that wanted answers.  Gem has become a close friend to Centaur and was worried about him with the two girls.  Somehow, she wanted to make it personal.  We told her that it would make things worse if we did it her way, so we followed Silver’s way instead and went with what she would call legal threats.  We got our answers from them and I wasn’t pleased that they would use him just for sex.  So I told them that they need to stay away from him personally, or I will throw them out of the dorms.

“But somehow, Centaur found out the hard way the next day and just hit rock bottom.  Blaze and Steel came to me about it, and we decided to take him to Dr. Chrysalis, since she helped me and Adagio with our problems.  She said that he had severe depression, possibly from how he was bullied back in middle school.  It was only because that Blaze, Steel, and Daisy were by his side that he didn’t have those same problems.  Somehow, he never had any experience with girls.”

“What about Daisy?” Sunset asked.  “She was with him most of the time in high school.”

“I was wondering that myself, but she never thought of him as more than just a friend when I asked her,” Aria explained.  “And Gem has that same kind of view about him as well.  The one thing I knew about him was that he liked archery.  So I decided to have some targets brought over for him to use.  It has helped him at times, but not many on campus wanted to try it out as well.  Gem tried, but wasn’t really good at it.  Maybe because she’s more used to show guns like her mother.  I’m just hoping that things would be better for him this year, but I’m not sure if that can be possible.  The best thing to do is help him out through the challenges that come to him.”

“Maybe I can help him out,” Sour Sweet said.  “I’ve been doing archery since middle school as stress relief.  And it was helpful in the Friendship Games.”

“Really,” Applejack said.  “You were showing off that time and got lucky hitting the bulls-eye.  I did a better job in that sport.  Plus, your still dealing with that disorder that you have.  Do you think he can handle you when you have your outburst?”

“I hate to say it, but she might be right about that,” Sunny Flare recommend.  “Even I’m still concerned that you will have another outburst out of nowhere.”

“You’re siding with her, over me?” Sour replied.

“Only because I worry about you as well,” Sunny added.  “If you want to help him out, you need to work on yourself as well.  Don’t take it the wrong way, but his mental state is kinda damaged right now.  I take it slow, OK?”

Sour Sweet let out a sigh and said, “Fine.  I’ll take it easy if I see him.”

Then Sunny Flare had a funny feeling and wanted to be sure are it.  “You’re not interested in him, are you?”

Sour Sweet started to panic. “What?  Me?  Oh no, not me.”

“Ya sure about that, girl?” Applejack said, starring at her.  “You know I can see a lie a mile away.”

When the others started to look at Sour Sweet, she started to get nervous.  Really nervous.  Enough to finally cave in.  “Fine.  Maybe I might be interested in him.”

Sunny Flare had to make sure she was clear in her choices.  “I understand why you are trying to do this, but you don’t need to do something like this on the fly.  If he sees you and is interested in you, he’ll let you know.”

“Am I missing something here,” Flash asked.

“Yea.  Why would you do something like this just to get a boyfriend?” Sunset added.

“I think it has to do with our conversation that we had while Sunny and Rarity were getting the color out of Rara’s hair,” Applejack explained.

“Yea.  She said that she had a hard time getting a boyfriend in high school,” Rara added.  “I think it has something to do with both of you,” as she pointed to Aria and Gears.

“Now what makes you say that?” Aria asked.

Sour Sweet explained.  “Well, you were more of the rude one of your sisters, and yet, he was more nice.  I just don’t see the connection.”

“Rude?” Aria responded, raising an eyebrow.

“She does have a point,” Adagio said.

Aria crossed her arms and looked away from her sister, whispering, “Baka.”

“I heard that,” Adagio said, staring at Aria.

“It’s because I always see her whenever she calls me for dorm repairs when one of the others screws it up,” Gears explained.  “She always complained about how bad they do the repairs while I’m making the repairs.  That’s when I became the manager of the maintenance crew.  She reported how well I did while the others keep making mistakes.  So, I took her out to dinner as a thank you, and… well, the sparks just flew from there.  Maybe you’re just having a hard time finding that spark with someone out there.  Someone that’s has the guts to ask you out.”

“Did anyone ever ask you out to your senior prom at CPA?” Sunset asked.

“No one didn’t bother to ask all five of us out to the prom,” Sunny replied.  “Maybe because we had the guts to stand up to Principal Cinch back then, and they didn’t want to get in the mix with us.  I’m sure Twilight had better luck in doing so, since she moved to CHS.”

“Well, she did,” Sunset replied.  “In fact, all of us did.  Well, almost.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sunny asked.

Applejack let out a sigh.  “I wasn’t able to get a date for our senior prom.”

“You would think that after what you and your friends have done, you would be able to at least get a date,” Rara said.  “Or did you brother, Big Mac, have anything to do with it.”

“No.  Big Mac already graduated last year,” Applejack replied.  “Micro Chips was able to escort Rarity to the dance, and Sandalwood did the same with Fluttershy, to which I’m grateful for them doing so.  Pinkie Pie asked Bulk Biceps, which I’m surprised to see that he’s the only guy to keep up with her on the floor. And Rainbow Dash had Soarin from the soccer team as a way to celebrate their championship win against CPA.  Nothing to brag about.”

Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet replied, “None taken.”

“And I decided to go with Flash to the dance,” Sunset added.  “I figure we try to make up for all that has happened in the past.  That’s all.  Plus, he was still reeling from having to let Princess Twilight go.”

“Which is all in the past, by the way,” Flash added.

“But no one wanted to ask me out.  So I went by myself,” Applejack said.

“You never thought about asked a guy to the dance?” Sunny asked.

“She still believes that a guy should ask the girl out,” Sunset explained.

“Plus, I’ve been busy on the farm,” Applejack added.  “With school and after school activities, I never even thought about dating anyway.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Sunny replied.

“It’s nothing.  Maybe my luck will change while I’m here,” Applejack said.

“Well, at least someone’s luck changed on the fly when we started working here,” Aria said as she nodded to the booth behind them.

The group looked behind to see Sonata with another guy at the booth, exchanging hand gestures.

“Is that… Sonata’s boyfriend,” Sunset asked.

“Yep,” Gears replied.  “That’s Stalwart Gray, a student here.  His family lives close to campus, but they don’t like him to go out alone.”

“Is it because he’s deaf?” Applejack asked.

“What makes you say that?” Sunset asked.

“He has a hearing aid in his ear.  And they’re talking in sign language,” Applejack explained.  “I have a nephew who was born deaf.  I wasn’t good at sign language, but I was able to pick up on the letters and numbers, which my nephew was able to understand.”

“I think I can understand what you mean,” Sour Sweet said.  “It’s like learning a foreign language.  I always have a hard time learning other languages.”

“Well, she hasn’t had any problems learning with him,” Adagio said.  “I think Sonata was helping Centaur early last year delivering some items to Disability Services that the two met.  She was curious in the hand gestures that he was making with Dr. Zecora and… well, he started teaching her with the letters, then words, then they started dating.  I always thought she wasn’t that bright, but I guess she just wanted to get away from all the pain and suffering that we were all going through.”

“Well, as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters,” Sunset said.

That was when River Song had an idea.  “You know, if you’re learning psychology and want to help Centaur out, then maybe you should look into Disability Services to learn more.  Dr. Zecora understand more about physical and mental illnesses.  I’m sure you can learn more about his learning disability there.  There’s just one catch.”

“What’s that?” Sunset asked.

“She has a habit talking in rhyme.  So you have to figure out what she’s saying.”

“And how do we do that?” Sour asked.

“Spoilers!”

“If you want to know, talk to Stellar Eclipse,” Gears explained.  “He a student here and works at the office desk most of the time.  You’ll recognize him because he’s always in a wheelchair.”

“Did he hurt himself or lost the feeling in his legs?” Sour asked.

“He has multiple sclerosis, so he rarely walks on his legs.  Having a wheelchair is the only best way for him to get around,” Gears explained.

Sour Sweet knew what Gears was talking about.  “I see.  I remember coming across a few articles about MS.  One of the worst diseases to have.  And can be experienced in several ways.  There’s been lots of discussion about the topic.”

“Nice to see that you knew about it,” Sunset said.  “I read about it, and most of the time it can affect the legs, causing them to have a hard time walking or standing when it takes effect.  I don’t think they have found a cure for MS so far.”

“No.  But it hasn’t stop Stellar from working,” Gears said.

“I’ll talk to Dr. Zecora about you visiting someday and let her know that you’re trying to help Centaur out,” River Song said.

“Hey, if Sunset was able to help Twilight with her own fears, I’m sure that she can do the same for Centaur,” Applejack said.

“Well, it’s not magic related, but it’s something that I can do if I plan to help out others back in Equestria.”
> Ch. 7 - The Archer Arrives
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was days before classes start, and all the remaining students were starting to check in during those days.  But in Clover Hall, Twilight was playing checkers with Spike while Sunset was getting herself fixed up in front of the mirror.  They left the bathroom door open so that Applejack and Sugarcoat could join them whenever they wanted to.

Applejack just finished taking her shower and yelled to Sugarcoat, “Shower’s all yours!” and decided to check up on Sunset.  “Any word from Flash?”

“Not yet.”  Sunset turned her attention to Applejack and was a bit stunned that she was wearing a white tank top and jean shorts that showed her fit body.

“Um, why are you staring at me like that?”

This caused Twilight and Spike to look at Applejack and shared the same look that Sunset had.

“Don’t tell me that you plan to walk around like that?” Sunset asked Applejack.

“This?  Heck no.  I’m going to get changed when it’s time to head to Flash’s room.  I just wear this when I’m working on the farm during the summer.”

“In front of the others that help out?” Twilight added.

“Trust me.  My brother makes sure the workers are kept in line,” Applejack explained.

“Sounds like you just want to get some tail,” Spike said.

“EXCUSE ME!?”  Applejack was upset at Spike’s comment.  “Last I recall, you were busy with my dog when you and Twilight were visiting me the last time.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Spike replied.  “She’s just as tough and you are.  I was trying to get her off of me.”

Twilight decided to clam Applejack down.  “Don’t worry, Applejack.  If I wanted to breed my dog with yours, it would be for scientific reasons.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow.  “Seriously?”

“You know she’s capable of doing that,” Sugarcoat yelled from the shower.  “Besides, you might be making a first impression on Centaur when he shows up with what you’re wearing anyway.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion on any of it,” Applejack yelled back.

Just then, a knock came from the door.  “Um, Twilight.  Can I, um, come in?”

“Just a minute, Fluttershy.”  Twilight got up and walked to the door and opened it, requesting Fluttershy to come in before closing the door and sitting on the bed together.  Spike decided to sit on Fluttershy’s lap.  “So, what brings you here?”

“Well, Aria and Gears just came over to fix the air unit next door, so Sour and Sunny decided to join us.  And… well… Sour was feeling… well…”

“Anxious?” Sugarcoat said as she just finished her shower.  She came into view with a towel wrapped around her and her hair still down.  “She’s always like that when it comes to boys.”

“Why do I have a feeling it has to deal with Centaur,” Applejack said.

“Well-”  Sugarcoat paused for a moment.  “Let me get dressed first,” and went back to her room.

“Something tells me that she’s going to cause more trouble than she knows,” Applejack said.  She saw Sunset let out a sigh and asked, “Something wrong, sugarcube?”

“Well, it’s not about Centaur, but more about Flash.”  Sunset looked at Applejack.  “How do you feel about him dating your friend, Rara?”

“Now what made you give that idea?” Applejack responded.

“It’s been on my mind for the past few days.  I just… wanted to make sure that I don’t regret the decisions I’m making,” Sunset explained.

“But you said that it wasn’t working out between the two of you,” Applejack said.

“I know,” Sunset replied.  “But I want to make sure I don’t leave here with any regrets.”

That was when Sugarcoat joined the group, fully dressed.  “It’s because she wants to make sure that he’s with the right girl so that she doesn’t have to worry about him for not making an effort the making it work between the two in case she decides to return to own world.”

Everyone just gave blank stares at Sugarcoat.

“Wow.  She knows how to get to the point of things,” Spike said, breaking the silence in the room.

Applejack asked Sunset, “You want the honest truth?”

Sunset just glared back and sarcastically replied, “No, I want you to lie to me.”  Then she serious replied, “Of course I want the truth.”

Applejack explained.  “Well, Rara does plan to return to the music stage after college.  And since Flash plays guitar, they could make a great couple on and off the stage.  It could also make sure that Rara doesn’t get caught up in the same mess like last time.  But only if Flash is ready to get back into dating.  I wouldn’t rush it anyway.”

“Plus, we’re here for four, maybe five years.  So I’m sure you all have enough time to get it all figured out,” Fluttershy added.

“Just let Flash do what he wants to do, and you do what you want to do,” Applejack said.  “I wouldn’t worry about relationships at this time anyway.”  She then turned her attention to Sugarcoat.  “Speaking of which, you were about to explain to us about Sour Sweet?”

“Well, she has a habit of doing strange things to get the boys that she’s interested in.  She wanted one boy there, but went crazy when he was with one girl most of the time.”

“Was that the boy who left CPA after our freshman year?” Twilight asked.

“No.  This was a different boy,” Sugarcoat replied.  “I did hear about that episode from Sunny.  But this boy actually had a girlfriend.  One that Sour shouldn’t have come across.  When she confronted her, instead of starting a fight, Sour ran in panic from that girl.  Remember seeing it while I was at the coffee shop.  Turns out that the girl knew some kind of martial arts.”

“So basically, she kept coming up to bad karma every time,” Applejack said.

“That’s right,” Sugarcoat said.  “Sunny has been on Sour’s case for years with that issue.”

“What about that other boy that Twilight brought up?” Sunset asked.

“Best you ask Sunny Flare.  She remembers it clearly,” Sugarcoat explained.

But that was going to have to wait, because Sunset’s phone started to ring.  She went to check and saw that it was Flash calling her.  So she answered it and talked to him before hanging up to tell the others.

“That was Flash.  He said that Centaur just checked in and could use some help unloading his stuff.”

“Sound’s like a good time to get to know him personally,” Applejack said.  “Let me get changed so I can help.”

So Applejack went back to her room to get changed.  While she was doing that, there was another knock from Sunset and Twilight’s door.  Twilight got up and answered the door to be met by Moon Dancer and Rara.

“Good.  You’re here.”

“What is it, Moon Dancer?”

“Our friend, Gem, just called us saying that she just checked in.  I want you to meet her and tell her what you learned about the bracelet… without the Equestrian details of course.”

“Well, Sunset and Applejack were about to go see Flash and Centaur at their dorm room,” Twilight explained.

“That’s good,” Rara said.  “Because we were going to meet her and Trixie over there as well.  She wanted to help Centaur move in as well.”

“Well, as soon as Applejack gets dressed, we can all head on down there together,” Sunset said.  “Do you two want to come along as well?”

“Oh, not me.  I’ll just stay here and keep Spike company,” Fluttershy said.

“I’m just going to relax for once,” Sugarcoat said.  “I need some time to clear my head before the first day of classes.”

“I can understand,” Sunset responded.

Once Applejack was ready to go, all five of them left the room and made their way to the dorm room that Flash was staying at, leaving Spike, Fluttershy, and Sugarcoat alone in the shared rooms.  This made things very quiet.  Maybe a bit too quiet.  And it was this that became a problem for Sugarcoat, because she has never bother to relax for a long time.

“Fluttershy, do you know how to… relax?”

“Um, well, I just like to enjoy nature.  Like walk in the park, see all the animals, that kind of stuff.”

“I’ve never enjoyed stuff like that.  All I do is go to a coffee shop, but that’s only to focus on my studies.”

“Well, walking around campus would be a good start.  But it might be packed with students trying to check in right now, so maybe it would be better to do that between classes.  What kind of class schedule do you have?”

Sugarcoat went back to her room and grabbed the class schedule to show to Fluttershy.

“Oh.  We both and the same Biology class together,” Fluttershy said.  “You actually have some of the supplies to help with that class, right?”

Sugarcoat nodded.  “You want to see it for yourself?  I also have some programs that explain various subjects, like animals.”

“Oh, that would be nice.  Maybe we can talk about animals as well.”

So Fluttershy got up and followed Sugarcoat back to her room with Spike following them.





The five girls made it to the dorm that Flash was staying at, Hurricane Dorm.

“I swear, these dorm names remind me of the six ancient leaders that became a part of Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Sunset said.

When they got to the front of the building, they saw Trixie and another girl trying to unload some items from a silver truck.  The girl almost looked like Applejack’s twin with the orange skin and freckles, but had red hair instead of yellow.  She was dressed in a white shirt with a tan vest, blue jeans, and western boots, and wore a white bandanna to cover the top of her head.

Trixie looked up to see them walking their way.  “Good timing.  Trixie could not do all this alone.”

“Just be grateful that we’re here to help,” Applejack replied.

“Where’s Flash anyway?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, he’s inside with Centaur.”  The orange girl got off the truck and walked up to the group.  “You must be Sunset Shimmer.  Trixie’s told me about ya.  Name’s Gem Stardust, fastest gunslinger in the nation.  Well, next to my mother of course.”

“It’s… nice to meet you,” Sunset replied.  “These are my friends, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack.  And I’m sure you know Moon Dancer and Rara.”

“It’s good to see you again,” Rara said to Gem.

“Same here partner.  Like the new look.”

“Thanks.”

Applejack was surprised at how similar she was to Gem.  “Gosh.  You remind me of… well, me of course.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Gem replied.  “Rara’s told me about you.  Never thought I meet you in person.”

But Moon Dancer decided to change the subject.  “Gem, can we talk for a moment?”

Gem agreed and followed her, along with Rara and Twilight.

“I hope that it’s nothing magic related,” Trixie said.

“Don’t worry.  It’s just about the bracelet that Moon Dancer has on,” Sunset replied.  “Wait a minute.  You didn’t go by your name.”

“That could only mean that you have something serious on your mind,” Applejack said.

“Yea.  I’ve been hearing… whispers the past few days about golden knights,” Trixie explained.  “I hope it’s just some kind of joke.”

“Fluttershy heard something like that from a bird that she was talking to,” Applejack responded.

“Yea.  But we don’t know if it’s related to Equestria or not,” Sunset added.  “I’ve already sent a message to Princess Twilight days ago, and she said that she would look into it.  But I haven’t heard back from her.”

“Was there anything in the history books about something similar to this?” Applejack asked.  “Twilight was able to learn about the sirens.  And you know about this holiday that you keep bringing up.”

“I wish I knew,” Sunset replied.  “But most of Equestria’s history was lost when the two sister princesses went against each other over a thousand years ago.  We only remember certain events because we celebrate them.  But any wars or other events before that time were lost or forgotten.  I don’t even remember anything about golden knights taking on some undead creatures from the books that were still there.”

“But it is magic that we could be dealing with, right?” Trixie asked.

“I’m not sure what to make of it,” Sunset replied.  “It may not be magic that we can’t even take on by ourselves.  Until I learn more about these rumors, we’re in the dark.  So this problem is out of our hands for now.”

“Let’s just hope these rumors stay that way,” Applejack responded, to which Trixie agreed.

Gem and the others were able to rejoin the group.  “I guess ya heard about what your old friends have been up to, right?”

“Eeyep,” Applejack replied.  “Hearing about that loser of a manager is one thing.  But the story about that bracelet makes the stories of Gaia Everfree at Camp Everfree feel like ghost stories.”

Gem had a confused look on her face.  “Gaia Everfree?”

“Oh, it’s just a scary story that was made up from the camp staff when we went to Camp Everfree back then,” Sunset explained while trying to keep a straight face.  “It’s nothing really.”

“Don’t tell me that you’re talking about our time at Camp Everfree.”

The girls looked to see Flash coming out of the dorm with another guy.  He had dark yellow skin and light tan hair, and was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes.

“Maybe.  Is this your roommate?” Sunset asked Flash.

“Yep.  This is Centaur Archer,” Flash said, making introductions.  “Centaur, these are my friends from high school, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack.”

“And those two are Moon Dancer and the one and only Coloratura,” Gem added.

“Please, call me Rara.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you all,” Centaur responded.  “Gem has told me about you two.  And let me thank you in advance for helping out.  It’s hard to get good help these days.”

“I already saw Blaze and Steel earlier, but they had to go see their football coach,” Flash said.

“Well, at least we have Applejack here to help out,” Sunset said, slapping Applejack’s backside.  “She’s a hard worker.”

“Oh yes.  Applejack is really the strongest girl we know,” Trixie said in dramatic fashion.

“Ha, ha.  Very funny,” Applejack sarcastically replied.  “Let’s just get this stuff unloaded and into the room.”

So the group went and grabbed Centaur’s stuff and took it into his room.  Out of all the stuff that was there, Applejack was able to grab and carry a trunk by herself, which Gem and Centaur were surprised to see.  Once they got all of his stuff unloaded, they started getting everything plugged in and stored away for him.  Sunset, Trixie, and Rara went to hang up his clothes, Twilight helped Centaur get his computer hooked up, and Moon Dancer, Applejack, and Gem took care of the other stuff.  As they were about finished helping out, Sunset noticed a dark blue vest with a golden bow and arrow embodied on it.

“Hey Centaur.  I heard from Aria Blaze that you were into archery.  Are you really that good at it?”

“Enough to display that wherever I go,” Centaur replied, pointing to the vest that Sunset was holding. “It was a birthday gift from Aria.  She helped create a place to practice my archery skills.  Been a good way to relieve stress.”

“I hope that’s all you’ve been doing this summer,” Gem said.

“It is, Gem.  Just target practice.”

Gem stared at Centaur.  “Ya sure that’s all?  You didn’t do anything stupid, right?”

“Gem, will you just give it a rest.”

“After what happened last semester?”

Sunset decided to get Centaur a bit of a warning before he could respond.  “Just so you know, Applejack has a way of knowing when someone’s lying.  So you better be honest about your answer.”

Centaur looked at Applejack and noticed the way she was staring at him.

“Fine.  I used blow-up pictures of the two that used me as target practice.”

Gem started to get furious.  “Centaur!  You damn well know we all had this talk before the summer break.”

“And still I can’t get what they did to me off my mind,” Centaur replied.  “Damn bitches.”

“Now you watch ya language, boy!” Gem yelled.  “Last thing we need is for you to do something stupid now, ya hear?”

Applejack decided to diffuse the situation and place her hand on his shoulder.  “Look.  We heard about what happened back then from Aria, and we can agree that it was stupid.  And they got what they deserve, even if the damage was done.  But you don’t need to go off like some demon wanting some payback.  All that does is cause more trouble.”

“She’s right,” Sunset responded.  “Some of us made mistakes in the past and had to live with the punishment for our actions.  I know I did long ago and had to live with it.”

“Same here,” Twilight added.

“How?” Gem asked.

“It’s… kind of a long, complicated story,” Sunset replied, rubbing the back of her head.  “I’m sure we don’t want to bore you with the details.”

“Anyway, the best thing you can do is be with your friends that you know well.  At least they’re there to help you out,” Applejack explained.  “And if you need an archery partner someday, I’ll be happy to join you.”

“Centaur looked at Applejack and said, “Really?”

“Eeyep.  I’ve done some archery before.”

“She’s right about that,” Twilight added.  “She knew how I needed to hit the bulls-eye when we competed back during the Friendship Games.  And I wasn’t good at the sport, even if I was assigned to it.”

“And I’ll be happy to help out if you need to get something out in the open,” Sunset said.  “I’m working on my Psychology major with Mr. Discord, and I already met Dr. Chrysalis days ago.  So it would be a good learning experience for me as well.”

“If you plan on doing something like that, you better talk to Silver when she gets here,” Gem said.  “Still waiting to hear from her on where she’s living now.  I’m sure she’s going to want some help when she arrives.”

“Speaking of which, have you heard from Sea Spray and Crab Hammer?” Moon Dancer asked.  “You would think they would be here by now.”

“No doubt they were running late getting out of town and got caught in traffic,” Gem explained.  “I told them to get going early before traffic became a problem.  But you know them.  They don’t take it seriously.”

“I’m sure they will get here soon,” Rara said.

“They better,” Gem replied.  “Otherwise, she’s going to be asking Blaze and Steel for help.  And they’re busy with their football coach.  And I haven’t heard from any of the others that we know.”

“Maybe we can help,” Flash recommended.  “We have some friends back at the girl’s dorm.”

“That’s a good idea,” Sunset said.  “Most of us are different, but we became good friends.  It might be nice to make some new friends.”

“No doubt Pinkie Pie would be someone that can cheer Centaur up,” Applejack said.  “I just hope that Rarity doesn’t get carried away with her fashion sense.”

“Knowing her and what we know about Centaur, She might pull something like that out of nowhere,” Sunset said with a laugh.

“Well, if we’re done here, how about we go down there and meet them,” Gem said.  “I would like to meet them as well.  Maybe you can tell us more about them.”

“Might as well,” Applejack said.  “At least you can get a heads up on them before you meet them in person.  Especially Pinkie Pie.  She’s one who is full of surprises.”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Gem yelled.  “LET’S GO!”

As everyone started to leave the room, Centaur made sure he had his vest with him.  He was the last one to walk out of the room, locking the door.  He noticed Applejack next to him, looking at Flash and Rara, having a nice conversation, and she said to herself, “You know, they might just make a great couple.”

“What do you mean?” Centaur said, which startled Applejack.

“Sorry.  Was I talking out loud?”

Centaur nodded.

“Well, it was something that Sunset brought to my attention earlier.  But you don’t have much in dating experience from what I heard.”

“Just one of the stories in my life.”

“Maybe what I’m about to tell you could prepare you for something later on… for Flash’s sake of course.”
> Ch. 8 - Blaze and Steel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While everyone else was enjoying their last days before classes start, Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap decided to take a jog on the campus track where most of the team outdoor sports are held.  It was also here that the football team was using the field for practice.

“Man, this track is much better than the one at CPA,” Indigo said.

“Seriously?  I thought CPA had the best track,” Rainbow explained.  “Ours was a bit harder.”

“Just feel the comfort of your feet.  It makes your legs feel much better than what we have.  And it’s better than running indoors where basketball practice is going to be held.”

“Maybe so.  But you should feel the field.  When I had my soccer tryouts, it was all artificial.  They said that it can even take in the water during the heavy rains so that the grounds don’t become a mess.  That is like 20% cooler if you ask me.”

“Could explained why it’s the best campus out there.  They put sports safety first.”

“Is that why you went to get a scholarship here while the other girls were busy working on the funds for CPA’s prom?”

Indigo stopped for a moment, causing Rainbow Dash to do the same.

“Yea.  I heard about what they were trying to do by taking Rarity’s idea for their own,” Indigo explained.  “But I never would have figured that they would have a problem creating music and go to you girls for help.”

“Well, when Rarity overheard what was going on and the help that was needed, we all pulled our resources together and made it happened.  Just wished you were there to join in.”

“Not to sound rude, but dancing and looking pretty are some things I’m not used to.  I think you girls did a good job without me.”

Both girls shared a heartfelt laugh before resuming their jog.  But during that time, they had to deal with the calls that were coming from the football team.

“Too bad they couldn’t show some respect to others,” Rainbow said, pointing out the players on the field.

“Welcome to the big leagues,” Indigo said.  “Although, I would like to meet this Steel guy that the girls were talking about.  At least he can help us out with where the safe areas are and what to look out for.”

“If he was able to get Centaur out of trouble, then he’s good in my book.  I just hope Sunset is able to help out with his problems that we have been hearing about.”

They were still dealing with the calls until someone yelled at the team.

“Hey.  That’s enough.  We’re here to practice, remember?”

The girls stop and took a glance to see a red guy with short black hair.  He was one of the players who was wearing a red practice jersey with the number 8 on it, while the others were wearing white practice jerseys.

“That must be one of the quarterbacks on the team,” Rainbow said.

“Didn’t Daisy said that her cousin was the starting quarterback?” Indigo asked.

But they were able to get their answer soon enough when a black guy with white hair spoke up.

“Hey Blaze.  Who put you in charge?”

“Coach Tirek.  And if you don’t like it, then you can take it up with him, Rocky,” Blaze replied.

Rocky got the message and backed away.

“Well, looks like we found Blaze,” Indigo said.  “And I think that must be Steel next to him.”  She was pointing out the green, bigger guy with brown hair, wearing a white jersey with the number 58 on it.

“You got that right.”  They look to see a guy with brown skin and gray hair that was in a ponytail, wearing a white shirt, blue shorts, and gray shoes standing next to the water coolers.  “That’s the center duo who now leads the team.”

Rainbow and Indigo walk up to meet the guy.

“I’m guessing that you help out on the team, right?” Rainbow asked.

“I help out most sports teams on here.  Name’s Needle Spike”  He extended his hand out to shake the girls’ hands.  “I think I’ve seen you two around before.”

“I was here when I tried out for soccer practice.  Name’s Rainbow Dash.”

“Now I remember seeing you,” Needle said.  “You were really fast and agile on the field with the soccer ball.  Coach thinks very highly of you down the road.”

“I know I’m awesome, but I didn’t expect to be that awesome.”

“Just make sure you don’t let it go to your head.  She hates it when that happen.”

“Well, I was at the gym court for basketball practice.  Name’s Indigo Zap.”

Needle placed his finger on his chin.  “Indigo, Indigo.  Where have I’ve heard that name?”  Then he finally remembered.  “Now I know.  Silver was telling me and the others how good a team player you were in high school and gave you the invite, right?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t had a chance to meet her in person,” Needle said, to which Indigo shook her head.  “That’s OK.  I’m sure she’s moving in to her new place on the edge of campus right now.  Drink?”

“Why not.  I’m feeling a bit thirsty.”  Rainbow Dash went to grab a cup of water.  But when she picked it up, the water started to slowly come out from the bottom of the paper cup.  “What the-”

Needle quietly laugh for a moment.  “Sorry, sorry.  I have a habit of pulling pranks around here.  You know, keeps the team loose out there.  Looks like you grabbed one of the paper cups that I added a cut to the bottom.  Here, use this one.”  He grabbed another cup that was left intact and handed it to Rainbow Dash.

“Nice one.  You should meet Pinkie Pie.  She host the craziest parties and likes to pull a few pranks on the side.”

“We’ve met Blaze’s cousin earlier during orientation,” Indigo explained.  “She’s rooming with a classmate of mine from CPA.”

“We also heard a bit about Blaze and Steel, not to mention Silver, from a couple of… friends of mine that work here, Aria and Adagio,” Rainbow added.

That was when Needle’s mood got serious.  “Then I can guess you’ve heard about Centaur, right?”

“From what we have heard of,” Rainbow explained.  “A friend of mine from CHS is rooming with him.”

“And we weren't pleased with what he went through,” Indigo added.  “My school has had some bad habits with respect towards other before Principal Cinch resigned long after we had the Friendship Games.  I think we have an idea what he’s been going through.”

“But right now, we’re leaving it to our friend, Sunset, to get him through this, once they meet,” Rainbow said.

“Well, I’m sure that he can use the help unloading, since Blaze and Steel were needed here.  I just hope that he can get back to his old self before that mess went on.  Even Rocky has been helping out the best that he can.”

“That’s the guy with the white hair that Blaze was yelling at, right?” Rainbow asked Needle.

“Yep.  He’s also my roommate.  Likes to hit the punching bag every now and then.  Just don’t be surprised if he judges you too quickly.  He has a habit of that.  All of us are like… a close family, if you can call it that.”

“Seems that way with me and my friends,” Rainbow said.

“Hey, hang on just a moment.”  Needle turned his direction to the field.  “Hey Blaze!  You got a moment?”

“Sure!”  Blaze told Steel to take over before making his way to Needle’s area.  “What is it?”

“Just met some of Daisy’s new friends, not to mention they’re friends of Centaur’s roommate.  This is Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap.”

“Indigo!  Silver has been telling me a lot about you over the summer,” Blaze said.  “She hopes you have be a big team player for the team, maybe be their next captain next year.”

Indigo was a bit startled to hear that.  “I didn’t think I was that great.”

“Well, you better be working hard to make that happen, because this will be her last year on the team as their captain,” Blaze explained.

“Is she graduating after this year?” Rainbow asked.

“Not really.  She wants to focus on her law degree next year, so she knows that she won’t have time to compete in sports by then.  And I don’t blame her.  It’s her fourth year here.”

For some reason, this got Indigo thinking.  “Say, are you and Silver… you know…”

Blaze was able to get the hint.  “Oh no.  We’re just good friends.  In fact, she never thought about the dating scene since she’s been here.  I think most people here know what her parents do for a living and want to avoid being a case for them.”  He started to grab one of the water cups, but Needle stopped him and pointed to another cup.  “You really need to stop doing that.  Just make sure Rocky gets that one.”  He took the other cup and took a quick drink and threw the cup in the waste basket.  “Well, I better get back to the team.  It was nice meeting you.  And I hope to meet your other friends as well.”  Blaze started to run off and rejoin the team.

“You know what, we might as well head back to our room,” Indigo said.  “It was nice meeting you.”

“Same here,” Needle replied.

Indigo made sure she grabbed Rainbow and started to leave the track.

“Indigo?  What are you doing?”

“Setting things into motion.”

“What things?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”





Back at Clover Dorm, Gear Works was working on the A/C unit in Sunny and Sour’s room, with Aria watching over the work.  Sunny and Sour stayed in the other room with Rarity until the work was done.  Rarity and Sunny were looking outside the window, seeing the other students walking by.  But Sour Sweet was acting more anxious that ever.

“Sour, will you just sit down,” Sunny ordered.

“I can’t.  I just… can’t.”

“If you’re thinking about Centaur, don’t even bother,” Aria said.  “Otherwise, you’re sending the wrong message to him.  I don’t need some creeper to be chasing him around.”

“I am not a creeper!”

Aria got up to Sour’s face.  “If you become one, then I will see to it that you sleep in a hospital bed for years.”

“Trust me.  You don’t want to get on her bad side,” Gears yelled to them.

“Dearie.  Now’s not the time to be boyfriend hunting,” Sunny said.  “Not with that attitude.”

“Oh?  And should I wait for Indigo to find me a loser the same way she did with you?”

“That was but a mistake that she made,” Sunny said.  “We were early in high school when it happened.”

This got Rarity’s attention.  “Dear, did you have a bad dating experience back then?”

Sunny let out a sigh.  “You remember I told you about Tenderhoof?”  Rarity nodded.  “Well, Indigo hooked me up with him during our freshman year.  I went along, thinking it was alright.  But somehow, we just didn’t… connect, that’s all.”

“What happened after that?” Rarity asked.

“Well, we hardly saw each other after that, until the Friendship Games came around.  After all that has happened, we just started talking as friends once again.  That when he told me about his dream of traveling around the world and seeing what most people don’t get to see.  So I wished him luck on his journey.”

“I think I remember reading up on his website earlier.”  The girls looked over to see Gears next to Aria, wiping his hands clean.  “He just finished his four week trip around Japan and is now in China.”  He took his cell phone out and started to find the site before handing it to Rarity and Sunny.

“Oh wow,” Rarity replied, scrolling the site of his phone.  “He has pictures and videos of his journey.  We have you take a look at it later on.”  She handed the phone back to Gears.

“So, have you ever had a bad dating experience before?” Sunny asked Rarity.

Rarity let out a sigh before she spoke.  “One experience I wish I never experience.  And it happened during my first Spring Fling dance.  My dress was ruined in the process.”

“Hold on,” Gears spoke.  “Were you the one that was with Blueblood that time?”

“How did you know?”

“I was working the drink table when someone lost their balance and crashed into the table.  The punch bowl went flying in the process and landed on a girl that Blueblood was hiding behind when it was coming his way.  She just lost it and punched him in the face.”

“He didn’t act like a gentleman to protect me from the punch bowl,” Rarity reacted.

“Well, after that, he was having a hard time recovering for a week.  I had a class with him, and he just looked like a mess since then.  The look was priceless.”

“Well, I guess he got what he deserved,” Rarity replied.

“Isn’t he the principal’s nephew?” Sunny asked.

“Distance nephew,” Rarity corrected.  “And he’s not what they say about him being a gentleman, that’s for sure.”

“No doubt what you did effected him for life.  Or at least until he graduated,” Gears explained.  “Well, got the A/C working again.  Shouldn’t have any problems this time.”

Sour Sweet raised her hands and said, “Finally!” before going back to her room to get some cool air from the A/C unit.

“I swear, she’s going to cause trouble one day,” Aria said.  “And I hate to be the one to clean it up.”

“Don’t worry.  I’ll make sure she doesn’t cause any,” Sunny explained.  “You plan to have the fans removed, right?”

“Already unplugged and ready to leave,” Gears replied.  “And if it starts to act up again, let me or Aria know.  But hopefully, that won’t happen.”

It wasn’t long before Indigo and Rainbow Dash came across the hallway, only to see Rarity’s door left open, causing them to stop by.

“Guess who we just met near the track?” Indigo asked Sunny.

“Who, dearie?”

“Blaze.  He was with the team practicing when we got a chance to talk to him.  Takes his role seriously.  And he’s single.”  A grin came across Indigo’s face.

“Dearie.  You are not going to hook me up with another boy you think would be suitable for me.  I told you time and time again not to even bother.”

That was when Rarity decided to intervene.  “Sunny dear.  Maybe you should give it some thought.  This is Daisy’s cousin we’re talking about.”

“I rather make my own choice in who I should date,” Sunny replied.

Rainbow Dash decided to add her opinion.  “You know, his roommate, Steel, might be single as well.  Maybe a double date should be in order, Rarity.”

Rarity raised her finger in excitement.  “That’s sounds like a great idea.  If we get to meet them, then we could see which one would be suitable for us.”

“You sure?” Sunny asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I promise,” Rarity replied.  “And perhaps you can learn about how to approach a boy from my view as well.  I do know how to get a boy to help out anyway.”

“Like that time you got those guys to get that piano up to the music room back at school?” Rainbow asked.

“Hey, it worked, right?”

Gears just shook his head.  “You girls are just something.”

Rainbow Dash was able to look at him.  “You must be Gear Works.”  She walked up to shake his hand.  Name’s-”

“Rainbow Crash,” Gears finished.

She was shocked when she heard that name.  “How did you know that name?”

“Because you were the only one who crashed into me between 3rd and 4th period classes during, I believe, your freshman year… and keep on going just yelling that you were sorry.”

“Wait.  You mean-”

Gears nodded his head.  “How can I not forget that rainbow hair blazing by me.”

Rainbow Dash just rubbed the back of her head.  “I guess I was in a hurry getting from one end of the school to the other to get to my next class.”

“Gears, you are just full of surprises,” Rarity explained.

“Well, we need to head to our rooms,” Rainbow explained.  “I want to tell Pinkie about another boy we met near the track.”  Both her and Indigo went on their way back to there respective rooms.

“Looks like they met Needle as well,” Aria said.  “Guess you could be cleaning up more messes in the future if those two got together.”

“Is this Needle guy a party planner?” Rarity asked.

“More like a prankster,” Gears explained.  “He likes to pull harmless pranks on those that he knows.  Most likely, sports teams.”

“Then I think Aria might be right about that one,” Rarity explained.

“Well, I better put these fans in the truck so that I can take them back to the maintenance building, in case someone else needs them.”  Gears went back to the other room and collect the pair of fans before leaving the room.

“At least that’s out of the way,” Aria said.  “I just hope that’s the last of the dorm problems that I have to deal with.”

Rarity was looking out the window when she saw four guys walking on the sidewalk.  “Say Aria.  What does Blaze look like?”

“Red guy with black hair.  His roommate will be a bit taller than him,” Aria explained.  “Why do you ask?”

“Because I just found them walking by.”  Rarity went to open the window and stuck her head outside.  “Oh excuse me.  Can I ask you something?”

Sunny just place her hand on her face.

“You wouldn’t happened to be Blaze Lionheart, would you?”

“And who wants to know?” he asked back.

“Rarity Belle.  Me and my roommate, Fluttershy, met your cousin a week ago.”

“I see.  Your roommate is taking the same major that my cousin is taking, right?”  Blaze asked, to which Rarity nodded.  “She hasn’t been any trouble, has she?”

“Oh no.  Not at all.  I was just curious if… gosh, how should I put this.”

That was when Pinkie stuck her head out of her window.  “SHE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU AND STEEL WILL GO ON A DOUBLE DATE WITH HER AND SUNNY!”

“PINKIE!!!”  Rarity was both embarrassed and furious at the same time.

“No doubt Indigo had a hand in this,” Sunny explained.

Blaze was able to make a witty response.  “Wow.  Talk about rushing into things.”

“I’m sorry about her outburst.  It’s just that… both me and Sunny here had some… bad dating experiences in the past.”

“What she said is the truth,” Aria yelled as she walked towards the window.  “Explained it to me and Gears.”

“Hey there Aria,” Needle waved, barely seeing her at the window.

“Hey Needle.  Pulled any stunts as of late?”

“Does putting a hole in the cup I picked up answer your question,” Rocky yelled back.

“Hey.  Blaze told me to do it,” Needle responded.

“Whatever.”

“Hey Aria.  Have you or your sisters heard from Silver today?” Blaze asked.

Aria tapped on Rarity’s shoulder, requesting her to move so that she could clearly respond.  “Not at the moment.  Adagio’s not even sure where she moved into right now.”

“Neither have we,” Steel replied.

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon,” Blaze said.

Before Aria could pull back, she was able to see Sunset with Twilight, Moon Dancer, Trixie, Flash, and Rara walking towards them.  “Looks like the others are making their way back,” she said to Rarity.

The guys looked as saw Flash waving at them.

“Hey there, Flash.  You got Centaur settled in,” Blaze yelled.

“Got everything unloaded, thanks to some friends of mine,” Flash yelled back.

But when Blaze brought up Centaur’s name, Sour looked up, and thoughts went swirling in her head.  ‘Is he here?  Is he here?  OK, calm down.  This is just your first time seeing him.  You want to make a good first impression, that’s all.’

When Flash joined up with Blaze, he introduced his friends to the guys, exchanging handshakes in the process.

“So, I heard that you’re trying to help out with Centaur’s problem, right?” Blaze asked Sunset.

“From what I have heard so far.  And it looks like Gem wasn’t pleased with how he spent his summer.”

“We told him not to worry about it anymore,” Steel explained, “but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Maybe Gem can knock some sense into him,” Rocky requested.  This caused Blaze to issue a stern glare at Rocky, causing him to flinch.

“Maybe Applejack can get him on track,” Sunset explained.  “At least on the archery issue.  No sense aiming an arrow at someone.”

“Who would that be?” Blaze asked.

Sunset looked over to find Centaur, Applejack, and Gem talking to each other.  Applejack was exchanging playful jabs with Centaur as all three of them laughed at what they were talking about.

“Looks like he found himself a keeper,” Steel said.

“I wouldn’t go that far just yet,” Sunset explained.  “She knows to take it easy on him, after what he’s been through.”

“That’s good to hear,” Aria yelled to them.

But Back in her room, Sour noticed Applejack next to Centaur, and it caused her eye to twitch.  ‘What?  She’s with him?  That cowgirl… is with him?’

Aria started to see this as well, and soon realized who wasn’t around.  “Sunny, is Sour still in your room?”

“I guess.”  That was when Sunny started to worry as well.  “Oh my.  I better make sure.”

Sunny got up and made her way to her room.  Aria decided to follow her and made sure that that everything was fine.  But when they got there, fear and worry started to show on their faces.

“Oh no.  Sour, do not do this.  Don’t you dare.”

“Sunny, what’s wrong with her?” Aria asked.

But instead of answering, Sunny ran back to the other room and went straight to the window.  Sticking her head out, she was hoping that Pinkie’s window would be open.

“Indigo!  Lemon!  CODE SOUR!!!”

Indigo was the first to stick her head out.  “What!?”

“You heard what I said.  GET OVER HERE REAL FAST!!!”

Lemon, who was with Indigo joined her.  “Did she say what I think she said?”

“She just did,” Indigo answered.  “Rainbow, Pinkie, I’m going to need your help,” she said as she was making her way out of the room with Lemon behind her.

Rainbow and Pinkie went to follow them, causing Rainbow to ask, “What’s going on?”

“Remember what we told you about Sour’s outbursts,” Indigo asked, causing Rainbow to nodded.  “She’s about to have one right now.”

All four of them ran down the hallway to Rarity’s room.  When they just got there,  They looked for Sunny, only to find her in her room with Aria.  What happened next was what they didn’t what have happen.  Sour’s face soon snapped, and she ran all the way to the window and opened it, yelling:

“HOW DARE YOU HIT ON MY BOY, YOU STINKING COWGIRL!!!”

Applejack, Centaur, and Gem were surprised at what they just heard.  But before she could continue, Indigo and Sunny were able to grab Sour and drag her back inside, trying to pin her down.  Pinkie, Rainbow, and Aria soon joined in and held her down, hoping she would calm down.

“You let me go!” Sour yelled.

“Not until you stop what you’re doing,” Sunny replied.

“Not until I teach that cowgirl a lesson… WITH MY FISTS!”

Somehow, this caught the attention of Sugarcoat and Fluttershy, who went to check on what was going on.  They soon saw the girls holding Sour down, but having a hard time.

“Is she doing it again?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Does seeing AJ with Centaur count?” Sunny explained.

Seeing what was going on, an idea came to Sugarcoat’s mind.  “Fluttershy.  Can you display the Stare that you were explaining to me just now?  On her?”

Fluttershy was a bit hesitant to respond.  “Um, I guess I could try.”  She went up to Sour’s face, still seeing the anger in her eyes.  She started to stare into those eyes, and her stare slowly grew.  “You will stop what you’re doing.  You will calm down.  YOU.  WILL. OBEY ME!”  At that point, Sour went from anger to stunned, before going to sleep.  Fluttershy breath a sigh of relief.  “I guess that worked.”

The other girls were able to relax after what they just experienced.

“Does this happen often?” Rainbow asked.

“Rarely,” Sunny replied.

As they started to recover and put Sour on the bed, Sunset yelled from outside.

“Is everyone OK there?”

Aria was able to go to the window and said, “We’re OK.  Just… a minor issue… that’s all.”

“Minor issue my rear,” Applejack replied.  “What the hay was that all about?”

“You don’t want to know,” Aria replied.

Sunset and Applejack looked at each other, causing Sunset to ask, “This isn’t because of what we discussed hours ago, was it?”

“I hope not,” Applejack replied.

Aria started to receive a text on her cell phone. She looked to see a list of texts coming in, and looked back to the others outside.  “Blaze, just got a text from Adagio.  Said that Silver was trying to call you, but got no answer.  Sea Spray and Crab Hammer are tied up in traffic.  She needs some help unloading.”

“I must have left my phone back in my room,” Blaze replied.  “You have an address?”

Aria found the address and forwarded it.  “I sent it to Gem.”

“Got it,” Gem said as she looked at her phone.  “Do you know when those two will get here?”

“Not sure.  All I know is that Daisy and Soul are already there.”

“Knowing those two girls, they can’t even lift the heavy stuff,” Rocky said.

Blaze looked up to Aria and said, “Thanks for the info.  We’ll try to get there once we get changed.”

“Do you need some extra help?” Flash asked.

“Not really,” Steel replied.  “The six of us should have this covered.”

“Hey Rarity,” Blaze yelled, causing Rarity to stick her head out the window.  “Maybe we can chat later on, if you like, once everything calms down on your side.”

“That… would be lovely.  Is there a way that I can call you later?”

“If you see Daisy later on, you can get it from her.  Otherwise, you might find me on the football field on some afternoons,” Blaze explained.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rarity replied.

“Well, we better head off and help Silver out,” Gem said.

“No problem,” Applejack replied.  “We might want to make sure our girl up there, Sour, is alright.  I have a feeling that Fluttershy used the Stare on her to put her to sleep.”

“It was nice to finally meet you two,” Sunset said to Gem and Centaur.  “If you need to talk to one of us, you have our numbers, right?”

“Already on our phones,” Centaur replied.

Blaze and his friends started to walk away from the rest of the group.

“Man, today’s been something, hasn’t it,” Flash said to the others.

“It has,” Moon Dancer responded.  “At least we got Gem up to date on the bracelet.”

“I just hope Sea Spray and Crab Hammer are alright.” Rara added.  “You know how traffic can be back home.”

“One big mess,” Moon Dancer responded.

“Well, I’m sure you want to check on Sour,” Flash said to Sunset.  “I’m… just going to go to the University Center for a quick bite to eat.”

“Care if Trixie joins you?”

“I don’t see why not.  Our roommates are going to be out for a while.  Might as well enjoy what’s there.”

“Hey!” Pinkie yelled from Sour’s window.  “You should check out the gaming room at the UC downstairs.  They have some classic and pinball games there.”

“She’s right about that.”  The others saw Gears walking outside.  “I heard screaming earlier.  Someone care to explain?”

“Might as well explain as we check on Sour,” Sunset said.

“Girls, I’m going to join Flash and Trixie to the UC.  Maybe some pinball games will help get my mind  off of things,” Rara explained.

With that, Flash, Rara, and Trixie went on their way to the UC, while Sunset and the others went back inside, explaining what they just saw.





But there was a different conversation with Blaze and his friends.

“Hey Blaze.  I thought you had your phone with you,” Rocky asked.

“I do,” Blaze replied.  “But it wasn’t because Silver needs our help.”

Needle responded, “You mean-”

“I do,” Blaze quickly replied.  All of them stopped for a moment.  “Sea Spray and Crab Hammer must have encountered one on their way here.  Gem, try to get in touch with them and see if you can get an update from them.  Centaur, call the professor and have her meet us at Silver’s place.  I want both of you at Silver’s asap and get everything up and running.  We’ll clean up and meet you there.”

“Blaze.  There’s a good chance that it could be a category three that they encounter,” Centaur said.

“What makes you say that?” Steel asked.

“Not here,” Centaur replied.  “Daisy and me can explain it over at Silver’s.  We might want Adagio there as well.”

“Do it,” Blaze replied.  “You both know what to do.  Knight’s honor.

“KNIGHT’S HONOR.”
> Ch. 9 - Meeting of the Knights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the outskirts of campus was a two story house with a few vehicles parked in front, including a u-hall truck.  A red car pulled up to the house, which four guys got out of.  Blaze was coming out of the driver’s side, wearing his black shirt with a red lion’s head on it, blue jeans, and black shoes on.  Steel came out of the passenger’s side, wearing his black shirt with a green bull’s head on it, black knee-length shorts, and white tennis shoes.  Rocky, wearing his red shirt with a ram on it, gray pants, and black tennis shoes, and Needle, wearing his white shirt, black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and gray shoes, were coming out from the back seat.  They looked around to see the back of the u-hall still open with some big furniture in it.

Rocky looked at the furniture and complained.  “Do not tell me that we have to bring that inside for her.”

“Hey!  If you expect me to do it all by myself, then forget it!”

They looked up to see a white lady with long blonde hair, wearing her white blouse and gray pants and shoes.

“Hey Silver!  Any word on Sea and Crab?” Blaze asked.

“They’re still on their way.  Aria and Sonata are on the lookout for them when they arrive.  Now can you at least get the heavy stuff in here?”

Rocky looked at the furniture, then back to Silver.  “How come Gem and Centaur can’t do it for you?”

“Because they already worked on getting the bed mattress up here.  Right now, their helping Soul and Daisy unpack and set up.”  Silver then pointed at him and yelled, “And don’t think you can walk out of it that easy.  Now move it!”  She started to walk back inside.

Needle patted Rocky’s shoulder and said, “She’s already on you now.”

“Shut up!”

As they went to grab the heavy furniture from the u-hall and up the stairs, Silver went to join Gem and Daisy in the kitchen.

“Already giving Rocky a hard time?” Gem asked as she was putting dishes in the cabinets.

“Someone has to keep him in line,” Silver replied.

“No more than that girl that went all out on Applejack,” Gem said.

“You mean Sour Sweet?” Daisy replied.  “I think it has to do with that bipolar condition she has.  Very rare from what her friends have told me.”

“She’s not going to be a problem like last time, is she,” Silver asked.

“Well I did hear that she’s into archery,” Daisy explained.

“So is Applejack,” Gem added.  “And her family runs the biggest apple farm out there.”

“You’re not thinking of hooking those two up, are you?” Silver asked.

“I would,” Gem replied.  “But I’m in no rush to do so.  I’m sure she’ll do it herself.  In time, of course.”

“Let’s just focus on what’s in front of us right now,” Daisy replied.

“I have to agree.”

The ladies looked to see Blaze in the doorway, nearly out of breath.

“Furniture is unloaded and in the house.  I hope this place was worth it.”

Silver went to get a glass and fill it with cold water.  “We have a good view from up here.  And once Centaur and Soul get the system set up, we should be good to go.”  She handed the water to Blaze.

“Good,” Blaze said, then took a sip of water.  “I’m getting tired of Rocky complaining.”

“Hey!  Came we get some water here?” Rocky yelled from the living room.

“Hold your horses, buddy.”  Gem went to grab a glass and filed it with cold water, then walked towards the living room.

“Is isn’t going to end well,” Silver said.

**SPLASH**

“WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?”

“THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR BITCHING AND COMPLAINING!  HAPPY NOW?”

Blaze looked at Silver and asked, “You want to diffuse this, or should I?”

Silver just raised her hand in agreement and made her way to the living room, with Blaze and Daisy behind her.  “All right, that’s enough.  Both of you.”

“But she-”

“I said THAT’S ENOUGH!”  Silver took a deep breath and regained her composure.  “Listen.  This isn’t just my new house, but it’s going to be our base of operations from here on out.”

“She’s right.  And I expect everyone here to understand that.”  The group looked at the main entrance to see River Song staring at them with Adagio behind her.  “We have every team member on campus, and some special students that we need to keep an eye on if we plan to get the job done this time.”

Rocky, who was still wet, wanted to get a better idea on the ones that they were talking about.  “If you don’t mind me asking, what makes them special?”

Adagio walked forward to answer.  “They possess Equestrian magic.  Not just from within, but also from the pendants they wear that gives them skills suited to each one of them.  And I hope they become the key piece we need to deal with this threat that you all have been facing.”

“I hope you’re right about that.”  A young lady with light purple skin and shoulder length purple hair, wearing a purple dress and purple heels, came out of another room nearby.  “Everything’s connected and just about ready.  Centaur is now booting up the computer for a quick test run.”

“That’s good to hear, Soul.”  River Song looked over to Silver and asked. “Any word on Sea Spray?”

“Nothing yet.  But Aria and Sonata are on the lookout for them when they check in.”

“Once he gets here, I want him on the computer and make sure we have access to every resource we need.”

“Do we even know what happened to them?” Gem asked.

“All I know is that they had to take a detour and came across one during that route,” Silver explained.  “They’re OK, but I don’t feel so sure from the sound of his voice when he contacted me.”

“If they came across one, then I’m sure they can handle it by themselves,” Gem explained.

Centaur showed himself from the same room that Soul came from.  “Everything’s working fine.  Just need Sea Spray to look it over and add the final touches, and we should be in full operation.”

“Nice to see that you’re still in one piece, mentally,” Adagio said.  “Came across any girls that caught your eye?”  A smirk came across her face.

“Now don’t get him started,” Gem responded.  “We already had one girl that’s going to be trouble for him earlier.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to hook him up with that farm girl you just met,” Daisy responded.

“Well, she’s better suited for him than that crazy chick.”

“She’s not crazy.  And she has the same guidance councilor that Centaur has to see for therapy.”

“So somehow, they plan to cross paths again?”  Gem crossed her arms.  “I really don’t want the same thing happening again like last time.”

Centaur placed his hand in front of his face before he could respond.  “You two are not helping here.”

Gem looked at him and said, “Centaur, you decided to let out your frustration by using copies of those two girls for target practice.  If you plan to use new targets, it better not be Applejack, you hear.”

“And I don’t want Sour Sweet to be one as well,” Daisy added.  “I’m sure you’ll understand her better once you get to know her.  She’s even into archery.”

“Same goes for Applejack.”

“HEY!  No one’s going to be targets here,” Adagio replied.  “We’re dealing with special girls, remember?”

“Adagio, we all know that AJ is one of the girls with magic,” Gem responded.  “But this other girl is just some average teenager from some other school, right?”

“She’s actually from Crystal Prep, along with a few others that’s living in that dorm,” Daisy replied.

“We just met two other girls on the track earlier,” Needle said.  “Both of them were athletes from CPA and CHS.”

“So you met Indigo Zap?” Silver asked, to which Needle nodded.

“We did,” Blaze added.  “And we had to keep the guys in line in the process.”

“You make sure you do that,” Silver replied.  “Or I’m going to slap some on them, if you know what I mean.”

“Excuse me,” Rocky explained.  “Last I checked, you and Steel were trying to chat one up with those two beauties after practice.”

“Actually, it was the girls who started it,” Needle corrected.

“Two beauties?  Would one of them be Rarity?” Daisy asked, to which Blaze nodded.  “Was the other one Fluttershy?”

“She had shorter darker hair than Rarity,” Steel answered.

“That would be Sunny Flare, another student from CPA,” Adagio explained.  “She’s the one trying to keep Sour Sweet in line.  But there was something different about those five girls from CPA.”

Silver had a curious look on her face.  “What makes you say that?”

River Song was about to answer when they heard a loud car horn from outside.

“That must be them.”  Gem started to make her way outside.  But when she got outside, she saw a campus truck parked next to the other cars.

Gears got out of the truck and yelled, “GET DOWN HERE, FAST!!!”

Blaze, Silver, and River Song went outside to see Gears and Sonata go to the back seat of the truck.  They puled out a guy with dark blue skin and short dark green hair, wearing a green shirt with waves on the front, blue pants, and black shoes.

“What happen to Sea Spray?” Blaze yelled.

“He’s been exposed,” Gears replied.

“So is Crab Hammer,” Sonata added.

Blaze when back in to get Steel, and both of them went down to the truck and pulled out another guy with red skin and orange hair, wearing an orange button-up shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots.  All four of them got the two guys inside.  Rocky decided to get up and let the two guys sit down to recover.

River Song went over to look at them.  “What happened?”

Gears explained.  “Aria was helping them check in while getting an update on what they encountered, and by the time they finished unloaded, they almost fainted.”

“There was a strange reaction coming from their left hands,” Sonata added.

River Song took a moment to look at Sea Spray’s hand and could see what looked like green electricity surrounding it.  She took out a mechanical wand and started to scan his hand.  Then she looked at it and was stunned at what she saw.  “Adagio?  Time to go to work.”

Adagio nodded and went up to them, exposing their left hands in front of her.  She went into her blouse and pulled out a green gem-like pedant that she had on her.  Holding onto both their hands, she started to hum a melody, but not like the style that she used to sing.  This was more of a calm hum.  Her gem started to glow and started to absorb the energy that was emitting from their hands until it was all gone.  When she stopped humming, the two guys started to come through.

“Sea Spray?  What the heck happened to you and Crabby?” Gem asked.

Sea Spray took a moment to gather his thoughts.  “Well, we were on our way here when traffic started to back up.  So we took a detour to get here.”

“Told you to leave sooner,” Gem said.

“There’s more.  During our detour, we started to detect a nearby rift and went to check it out.  The… monsters that we faced were easy at first.  But when I went to close the rift, it backfired in the process.  That was when more monsters came out.  They were a bit stronger than before, but we were able to take them out.  Crab went to close the rift himself, but experienced the same result I did.  We… had to react quickly before more came out, so we combine our powers and were able to close the rift.  But…”

“You were exposed to the rift’s side effects, right?” Daisy asked.

“That’s right.  We thought we could handle it like our first time.  But somehow… well, you can see what just happened to us.”

“That’s impossible.  It shouldn’t take two people to close a rift,” Rocky explained.

“Easy there, Rocky.”  Blaze looked to River Song and asked, “What was the reading?”

“Level three.”

“Level three?  That can’t be possible,” Rocky responded.

“That’s what it said,” River Song explained.

Blaze looked at Centaur and said, “You said you encountered a category three.  Can you explain what happened.”

Daisy looked at them and said, “It happened while you were at football camp.”





The small town was being attacked by imps and skeletons coming from a big green tear in the air.  Humans were running away from them in a panic.  One guy tripped and fell in the process, allowing a skeleton to come up to him.  As it was about to strike, a golden boomerang came across and struck it in the next before it disappeared and became a streak of light, going back into the tear.  The guy looked back and saw a small lady in full golden armor grab the boomerang in the air.

“Are you ok?” she asked and she ran up to the guy.

“Who… who are you?”

“No time to explain.  You need to get out of here, now!”

As he started to get up, they heard a little girl scream as an imp was running up to her.  She was about to throw her boomerang when the imp was hit by an arrow, sending the imp back into the tear.  They looked to see a young man in golden armor, similar to hers.

“Capricorn, you ok?”

“I’m fine, Sagittarius.”  She ran up and scooped up the girl and brought her up to the guy, hand her to him.  “Here.  Take her and get out of here.  We’ll deal with this.”

The guy quickly nodded and ran off with the girl in tow.  The two armored knights looked at the tear and the monsters surrounding it.  The man named Sagittarius took his bow and grabbed arrows that appeared from his backside, shooting at each monster that was there.  The woman named Capricorn took her boomerang and threw it at each monster, striking each one in the process.  Each monster they struck was sent back into the tear behind them until none were left.  That was when they saw a change in the tear.  Capricorn extended her left hand, which started to glow green, and created an electric chain with the tear.  She started to pull her hand back, trying to destroy the tear.  But just then, a bright flash happened, throwing the two knights back, severing the connection.  They looked to see the tear still there.

“No.  It should be closed by now,” Capricorn said.

Before they could react, green bolts started to strike the ground, causing more monsters to appear.  But these ones were different than before.

“Goblins… and Orcs?  Not good.”  Sagittarius collapsed his bow and placed it on his back.  Then he pulled out a golden saber from his belt.  “Can you still fight?”

She got back up and had her boomerang in hand.  “Until every one of them are gone.”

They went on and engaged the group of monsters.  But because they were stronger than before, they had to strike up close than before.  They went on, cutting off their heads or finding their weak points in order to send them back into the tear until they were eliminated.  Capricorn started to stretch out her hand again, but was too weak to do so.

“Sagittarius!  You’re going to have to do it for me.”

Sagittarius nodded and extended his hand, creating the same effect that Capricorn did before.  But it created the same backlash like before, throwing them farther back.

“Damn it!  Something’s not right about this,” Sagittarius said.

“We need to close it,” Capricorn explained.  “We can’t take on another round of those things.”

The tear started to create another reaction, sending more monsters to their world.  With little time left, Sagittarius dropped his saber and grabbed his bow and one arrow from his back.  He quickly aimed the arrow towards the tear and started to summon all the energy around him into the tip of the arrow until it was bright.  “ARROW…  SHOCK… WAVE!!!!”  In one quick motion, he released the arrow, striking the tear and causing a large blast of light to appear.  Once the light faded, the tear in front of him was gone.

Tired, he grabbed his saber, and went to help Capricorn up and went over to a dumpster in an alleyway to hide.  Once hidden, he touched the back of his left hand that displayed the symbol of the Zodiac Sagittarius, causing his armor to disappear.  Capricorn did the same with her Zodiac symbol on the back of her left hand.

“Centaur.  What just happened there?  We never had this problem before.”

“I don’t know, Daisy.  But if I had to take a guess, that was a category three rift we just faced.”

“You mean-”

“I believe so.”  Centaur went to help Daisy up.  “We better get back and make sure we haven’t been exposed to it.”

As they were walking out of the alleyway, a guy noticed them coming out.

“HEY!  I FOUND SOME SURVIVORS!”  He ran up to them.  “You two alright?”

“I believe so,” Centaur replied.

“Did you see what happened?”

“I’m… not sure.  I was too busy helping my friend while it was all taking place.  If you don’t mind, I want to make sure she’s fine.”

“There should be an ambulance coming this way.”

“That’s ok.  I can take her in my truck.  You check if anyone else is hurt.”

“Sure.”  The guy ran off to look for anyone else, allowing the two to walk away.

“That was close,” Daisy said.





“So.  It seems that all of Aria’s training has finally paid off,” Adagio said.

“Maybe so,” Daisy said.  “But it would have been a lot worse if we did what Sea Spray and Crab Hammer did today.”

“We were lucky to avoid being exposed to the rift’s energy,” Centaur explained.

Silver asked, “But if that was a category three, then-”

“Then our mission just got more challenging,” Blaze finished.

Just then, Gears’ cell phone started to ring.  He went to answer it before hanging up and turning to the others.  “That was Aria.  She needs me over at one of the dorms… again.”

“Go on ahead,” Silver requested.  “We should be fine for now.”

As Gears and Sonata were starting to walk out, Sonata looked back at the two on the couch and said, “You come by later on so that I can fix you some good food to help you get your strength back.”

“No problem,” Sea Spray said while displaying a thumbs up.

“Better make it extra,” Silver said.  “We’ve done a lot of work getting this place set up.”

Sonata nodded and displayed a smile before leaving with Gears.

Steel looked at Blaze and asked, “So, what do we do now?”

“Good question.”  Blaze placed his hand on his chin and started to think.  “Even if we were to take on every rift that appeared, Centaur would be the only one who could close it safely.”

“What about Gem’s power shot,” Daisy asked.  “It’s also a ranged attack.”

“I’m not sure it would have the same effect,” Soul explained.  “She can aim just like Centaur, but she would be using a gun instead of a bow and arrow.  Collecting the energy with be a different process.”

“She’s right,” Sea Spray said.  “It won’t be the same as Arrow Shockwave.  But, if we’re dealing with category three rifts, then we need to find others ways to close them.  We can’t rely this task to Centaur alone.”

“There may be another option,” Gem said.  “I was talking to Moon Dancer and her old friend, Twilight Sparkle, and they believe that the bracelet that Moon Dancer has could contain some kind of magic that could help us.”

“Do you know what kind?” Sea Spray asked.

Gem started to scratch the back of her head.  “I couldn’t understand the mumbo jumbo that they were talking about.  But I did ask that you should look into what they discovered about it and see if you can make some sense about it.”

“Whenever she’s ready to show me what’s she’s learned, then I’ll be happy to look into it.”

“Well, you can make sure the systems are ready to go,” Centaur said.  “I got it booted.  Just need you to finish up the remaining bits and pieces so that we can stay alert for more rifts… and other problems that would come our way.”

“Agreed,” River Song said.  “We need to be ready for anything.”

“And what about those girls with the magic that they posses,” Rocky asked.

“I recommend you get to know them better when you meet them,” Adagio said.  “Including the ones from CPA.”

“Why?  Just to make sure they don’t become a problem with Centaur?” Gem explained.

“Not really.”  A look of concern came across Adagio’s face.  “Somehow, I could sense… something from them.”

“Equestria magic?” Blaze asked.

“I’m not sure.  There was a… mixture of something coming from them.  Something that I don’t think Sunset Shimmer could even detect.”

“Speaking of which, you think she could close these rift herself, like what we heard from these… Friendship Games that happened back then?” Blaze asked.

“That would be a good question,” Adagio said.  “But we won’t know until it happens.  I think it would be best that Centaur, Gem, and Daisy work on gaining their trust, since they would be in the center of all this.  River Song knows about their magic, but they want to keep it a secret from others.  And since we’re trying to keep your secret about being the Zodiac Knights from them, then-”

“We should wait until they come across one before confronting them about who we really are,” Blaze explained.  “Centaur, Gem, Daisy.  I’m leaving that task to you three for now.  The rest of us will help out with these girls, but only for certain reasons.”

“Don’t forget.  Sunset can read your minds with just a touch,” Adagio explained.  “I do your best to avoid contact unless you can block out her powers.”

“Let’s not forget about Applejack,” Gem said.  “Sunset did say that she knows when someone’s lying in front of her.”

“Could be the tone of the person’s voice,” Soul explained.  “That would be a dead giveaway.  I would like to meet her if that’s possible.”

Blaze looked around the room.  “If that’s all, then we stick to our usual business for now.  Knight’s Honor!

“KNIGHT’S HONOR!”